Countdown to Kickoff!!!

I was absolutely beside myself when I heard about Erin at Love, Fun & Football's 

Tailgate Tuesday link-up!  

I love lots of things but I love, love, L-O-V-E me some fightin' Texas Aggie football! Whoop! 

I am giddy with excitement to tell you about the school I love so much!!!  Hang with me - there was so much I wanted to tell you that I got a bit carried away!  :)

Texas A&M University, the largest university in the great state of Texas, and the fourth largest university in the United States, located in College Station and home to over 58,000 students, also known as Aggies.

The fall in Aggieland is a very special place!  There's a buzz in the air and game days are my favorite days of the week!

Kyle Field is the home of our Fightin' Texas Aggie football team.  This was Kyle Field as I will always remember it!

This is how it will look very, very soon!  {source}

We are also home of the 12th Man!

E. King Gill was the original 12th Man.  Back in 1922, the team suffered so many injuries during the first half that they were down to eleven players.  The coach called E. King Gill down from the stands to suit up and be ready to play.  Although he never played, Aggies stand for the duration of the game as a symbol of the original 12th Man - ready and willing to support their team to the point of actually entering the game.  I love how Texas A&M explains it:  The tradition was born out of the willingness to serve.  This willing spirit has endured, and today the Aggie student body is known as the 12th Man: united in loyalty, united in support, and united and ready to serve when they are called to do so.

Texas A&M is a school based on more traditions than I can count!  Some of my favorites are:

+ Midnight Yell - Other schools might call this a Pep Rally but we aren't like other schools.  Aggies don't have cheers, we have yells (we don't have cheerleaders either, we have Yell Leaders).  The night before every Aggie home game, we hold a Midnight Yell practice at Kyle Field (and, yes, it does start at midnight!).  We go through the yells, hear a few stories, sing the War Hymn, and there's even a time when they turn out the lights so you can practice kissing your date (cause Aggies kiss after they score!).  Being an Aggie has it's advantages!  ;)

 it's not unusual for 20,000 to 25,000 people to be in attendance at Midnight Yell!

I love taking the kids to Midnight Yell!  We usually try to wait till we have a night game because getting up early after Midnight Yell isn't fun!

+ we say Gig 'em - Why?  You can check it out here.  My kiddos don't need to know why - they just stick their thumb up and say it!

+ we saw 'em off! - During one section of the Aggie War Hymn (other schools might refer to this as their Fight Song), we lock arms and legs and sway to the left and right.  Our rivals for the longest time were the Longhorns and it's our symbolic way of sawing off the horns of Bevo.

 I love our little family of Aggies!

 you always place your left leg over the person's right leg and then join arms - our kids learned this very early in life!

+ we hump it - We what?!  Yes, we actually hump it!  ;)  During yells, we put our hands on our knees and lean over.  The intent is to maximize our voices!

+ we also say "Whoop" - Whoop is an upperclassman's way of giving their approval.  That's right, freshman and sophomores aren't suppose to whoop!

Holden shows you the hand sign associated with whooping!

Our mascot is a collie named Reveille.  She's considered the "First Lady" of A&M and holds the highest rank in the Corps of Cadets.  You can read how A&M started this tradition and why she's named Reveille here.

 Reveille attends classes with her handler.  If she is in class and barks while the professor is teaching, the class is to be immediately dismissed. #whoop

Hope recently ran in to the new Reveille at puppy training.

So, why do I love Aggie football so much?  Here's just a few reasons:

+ family time - For the last seventeen years, we've had season tickets with my parents.  We have eight tickets - four seats in front of the other four.  This way our kids can go back and forth between us and Dede and Pop Pop.  Some of my favorite memories are at Kyle Field on a Saturday afternoon!

+ our kids have grown up at Kyle Field - We started bringing our kids to games as soon as we could.  I have nursed my share of babies in the concourse of the stadium!  Why do we bring them?  Why not!  They might not always pay attention to the game but they are immersed in all things Aggie!  :)  That's right - we start brainwashing them the moment they are born!

+ tailgating - This season will be our fourth season in the SEC.  Tailgating has always been fun but I've noticed that we've turned it up a notch since joining the big boys!  My favorite part about tailgating is definitely catching up with friends!

+ friends - And, what's better than a Saturday at Kyle Field?  A Saturday at Kyle Field with your besties!  

+ dressing for football games - Since it's normally 100+ degrees when our football season starts, we {try} to dress for comfort.  But, that's the beauty of Aggieland - you'll see a little bit of everything!  Here's a few of my favorite game day outfits!

you can never go wrong with a jersey

tattoos and tutus are always popular

 sparkles are a favorite for these two

 wearing cute babies is also acceptable game day attire ;)

 they've outgrown head wear but at one time this was a must!

 mini skirts and cowboy boots

apparently LOVE shirts were all the rage!

and, yes, sometimes rain jackets!

+ special guests - President George H.W. Bush has his Presidential Library on the Texas A&M campus so it's always fun to see him attending Aggie games!

+ the sights and sounds - Kyle Field is just electric to me.  Game day is always fun but there's just something about a night game at Kyle that is just unlike the rest!  It's hard to even put in to words!  It's one of those things you have to experience for yourself!

When Colby was younger he played soccer on Saturday mornings {gasp!}.  But, since we live in College Station, we could make his game and then hurry over to Kyle Field to try and miss as little of the game as possible.  Granted, I hated not being there for kick-off but there's something about walking up to the stadium and hearing the roar of the crowd!

+ some things the kids love - While there might be a fabulous game going on in front of us, there are tons of concession stands behind us!  We spend lots of money feeding our crew on game days!

+ memories I don't want to forget - 

 The time when it was over 100 degrees and we left the game so that the boys could swim in the fountain across the street at the Memorial Student Center.

We got them cooled off and then took them back to the game!

Watching the Corps march-in hand in hand!

This girl not really liking football but choosing her "favorite" player by who wore her favorite number!

Colby meeting my favorite ESPN sportscaster while we were at the Holiday Bowl.

The girls playing their Nintendo DS during games.

or cards!  :)

Staying up late so that we could welcome home the team in 2012 after their big win in Alabama.

Watching these boys grow in to men right before my very eyes!

There are 25 more days till the Ags face Arizona State for the season opener.  I can't wait!!!

I can't wait to read about everyone else's favorite football team!  Thanks for stopping by (and for making it to the end!).  You deserve a "Whoop"!

Have a fabulous week!  Gig 'em and God bless! 

Holly

and come back tomorrow for the Waiting on...Wednesday link-up - a place where you can link up what you are waiting on, going through, making, anything - as long as it's family-friendly!  :)  

AND come back tonight at 8pm for #summerfamilyfun...for the next 3 weeks, you can find a BONUS link-up here for summer family fun posts! There are 30 co-hosts so your post will get maximum exposure!!!  Feel free to link up both days!

Be sure you check out my FAVORITE link-ups page to see where I'm linking up today.  Stop by and show them some love! :)