TAMU v. Miami

You may think the fans of your favorite college football team are the best, but they are not.  Don't get me wrong.  You might be the biggest fan of your team, supported them through think and thin, championships and years where the wins were few or absent, but your co-fans have nothing on Aggie fans.

Dawn and I went to see the Fightin' Texas Aggies take on the Miami Hurricanes.  One one piece of pre-game showmanship that I missed was the F-14 fly over, but we were in a tunnel and were deafened as they did pass overhead.  Unlike certain schools we've been at to see games, the student section was filled before the game.  Hell, the whole stadium was filled for the game.  When the band struck up the fight song, the whole stadium sang along, and even joined shoulder to shoulder at the appropriate time.  The fans did their best to rock the stadium supporting the defense, and follow the signals of the yell leaders and cheer in unison.  Unlike certain schools we've been to, the amount of drunken annoyance seemed to be at a minimum, and for the most part people seemed to watch their language.

The same cannot be said about the fans of the visiting team.  Really, is there any fan worse then the Miami fan though?  I challenge anyone to tell me who.  The all seem to be jerks.  Brash and brassy, know it all and smug, often drunk, often odious, either of sweat, alcohol, cheap cologne or tobacco.

As big of jerks as the Miami fans were during the game, the TAMU fans couldn't have been more polite to them as they exited the stadium early wishing them good luck, and asking if they enjoyed their trip to Aggieland.

Even well into the fourth quarter, when the game was out of hand, the student stood by their team, maybe not cheering as loud as at the start, but there none the less.  When the game was over, and the Aggies racked up another loss, the student section stayed for post game Yell Practice, after which the fans are allowed onto the field.  Anyone who wants to.  We even saw some Miami fans out on the field.  It was so cool.  Families running around with footballs, taking group pictures, showing their children a little something about where they went to school.

So you may be the best fan of your team, and you might think your group of fans is the best in the world., but your group of fans has nothing on the Aggies.  And really, if you know there's a group of fans out there more supportive then yours, how strong is your dedication to your team?