Week 2: Texas A&M University – September 10, 2016
My second stop of the 2016 season was Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. This was really neat going from a D3 game to an SEC game just to see the complete opposite spectrum. The first home game of the season against a FCS led me to believe that I probably missed out on some things, like seeing a packed stadium or a great tailgate since it was deader than a door nail. The Stadium is so big, it was pretty mind blowing. It is the 4th largest college stadium, so the biggest I have been to yet. Sitting up in the nose bleeds was like watching ants play football and sitting 10 rows up the second half was great to see how high the bleachers go. College Station definitely brought me back to the college days when we hit the town the night before. The bars were divey, packed, and sell cheap drinks. I think I counted 30 animal heads mounted on the wall in one bar alone. Then there is the midnight yell, mind boggling, mainly due to the fact that I never even heard of this before I was dragged there the night of. Luckily I went with an alumni, otherwise I would have missed this and regretted it. If you have not been to a midnight yell, I would highly recommend it. Outside of the college atmosphere, there is not much going on in College Station. I am just going to end this experience description as questionably weird based on all the traditions I witnessed.
Overall: Definitely the weirdest traditions I have seen and experienced. They are so different than anything else that I am not sure if anything around the country even comes close.
Coolest thing about the Texas A&M Experience: Midnight Yell. This was a blast! I knew none of the chants or the songs, but it was amazing how many people waited outside around midnight the night before the game to watch a parade of students and then pack part of the stadium to listen to the yell leaders give speeches and do some crazy chants.