Yes, you did read that headline correctly, and it will all make sense in just a few short minutes.
This past weekend some buddies & myself went down to College Station at Texas A&M, making it my first SEC football experience. Originally from the Midwest and attending a west coast university, I was pumped to finally experience how the south does gameday better than the rest.
First and foremost, the Aggies were playing New Mexico State as almost a 30-point favorite & the game kicked off at 11 A.M. That is almost reason to take the day off? Maybe? Just watch some other games, and let the #5 team in the country do their thing, right?
Absolutely not. Realistically, still drunk from the night before, these kids had me deleting beers by 8:21 A.M. for a game against NEW MEXICO STATE (30 POINT FAVORITE).
I mean, it might as well have been Alabama in town (which happens Oct 9th btw). Tents, trailers, and horse troughs filled with beers, stretch for multiple miles along the street. Fraternities have their own tailgates sectioned off with vendors and their personal game day polo’s (why does the Pac-12 not do this??). The entire lot smells like a deli had a baby with a brewery, zero complaints.
By 10:30 A.M. if you can still tell your left from right, the roar of the fighter jets preparing for fly over begins. This is about the point I realized, “My school sucks.” It was like a cue to get more belligerent, “Oh the jets are flying, why can I still count to 5.”. The walk to the stadium is littered with A&M specific chants, more yelling and more drinking. All good things, I love.
Once inside the stadium, it is breath-taking, and the pictures speak for themselves.
At this point, it couldn’t get much better, but it did. A&M covered.
The bar scene after at North Gate felt quite rowdy for beating the piss out of a non-power 5, but I was not going to say a damn thing. 2 words to describe it, electricity factory. On the walk back home, we snuck onto Kyle Field (no big deal). Lovely weekend.
So, what was going on back home, at the University of Arizona. Well, apparently we lost to an FCS school for the first time since 1932. I was so thankful for the hospitality of College Station that I didn’t even know my school lost till about an hour ago. Does that make me a shitty fan? Don’t care. I had to take full advantage of being at a school in the SEC that truly knows how to do a football weekend.
