An Aggie Benedict Arnold

                I felt like a traitor. I was willingly visiting enemy territory – the University of Texas.

                In the summer, I usually attend a journalism workshop at Texas A&M University in College Station. This year, the camp was slated for UT. On the bus ride to Longhorn land, I was wondering how this Aggie Mom and LSU Tiger fan would handle a sea of orange on the “tea sippers” campus.

This aversion to UT comes from growing up in Louisiana where state loyalties were either with LSU, Tulane or Southern and Texas universities were loathed. When my eldest son decided to become an Aggie, I had to learn to swap my fondness for purple and gold for maroon and gray.  

                It wasn’t easy learning to love the Aggies because, at one time, LSU and A&M were fierce rivals on the football field. I remember attending an LSU vs. A&M game one year, and despite pouring rain, the rivalry between the Aggies and the Tigers was fierce.

The game came down to the final minutes; and even though I don’t remember who won, I will never forget the experience of attending a football game in a packed Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night.

The name “deaf stadium” was earned honestly. It’s practically impossible to hear anything when attending a home LSU football game over the chants of “Tiger Bait, Tiger Bait.”

                At A&M’s orientation, though, I gained an appreciation for Aggie traditions, especially after finding out their history. People never walk on the grass around the Memorial Student Center because it was planted in honor of all Aggies killed in the line of duty.

The solemn Silver Taps ceremony is where Aggies who’ve died the past year are remembered by having their name called out by a family member or fellow Aggie.  In Kyle Stadium, every time the Aggies score a touchdown, boyfriends kiss their dates.

                We learned the history behind the term “Twelfth Man” and the significance of the Aggie Muster.  I’m still not sure who can say “whoop” and who can’t, but it’s an honored tradition, one the Aggies hold dear to their hearts just as LSU Tiger fans hold their breath before the Golden Band from Tiger Land plays the first four notes of the LSU fight song and UT students know how to make the “hook ‘em horns” sign with their hand.

                From the outside looking in, college traditions might seem silly; but when you’re at a university, surrounded by people who stand together through winning football seasons and losing ones and tragedies and successes, traditions bond people together for life.  

                I realized campus solidarity isn’t limited to A&M or LSU as I walked around the sprawling Longhorn campus.

                Most students were wearing UT hats or shirts with “Keep Austin Weird” printed across the back. Stickers and posters with the UT logo were everywhere. Students were proud of being Longhorns, just as my sons are proud of being Aggies and my family wears purple and gold every Saturday during football season.

                 The three schools are more alike than they are separate – they share long-standing rituals, their fans are steadfast and loyal, they’re dedicated to excellence, and their campuses are filled with people eager to learn or at least find the next place to party.

                Even though I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wear an orange Longhorn T-shirt and face my Aggie sons or my LSU brothers and sisters, I do have a new-found appreciation for “the other” school up there in Austin.

                Until football season.

                And then it’s Geaux Tigers and “gig ‘em” time. 

 This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.