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Posted on 8/7/21 at 9:54 am to Turf Taint
I like their yells and makes sense to have "leaders" for them, but have some damn cheerleaders and stop dressing like milkmen.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 11:15 am to aggressor
quote:
Like many Aggie traditions, Yell Leaders started back when we were an all male military school long ago. There were no women at A&M outside of a few exceptions up until the '60s. 100 years ago male cheerleaders were very common as many colleges had few if any women, A&M very much resembled The Citadel at that time.
At A&M it started as kind of a joke. A group Seniors essentially told some Freshman to put on white jump suits and get a crowd fired up before a game. The Freshman did a great job and got everyone riled up so the Upper Classmen decided they were going to take over. Yell Leaders started becoming an elected position and soon became the most highly contested student election on campus as they became the most recognized people on campus.
My Dad was a Head Yell Leader in the '50s. Back then that meant he was also in charge of building Bonfire and he was put on Corps Staff which ran the entire Corps (and everyone was in the Corps back then). He went on to be Class Agent for 50 years. The group of men that have been Yell Leaders is actually quite impressive and there are some incredibly successful folks from high powered attorneys to multiple President's of the 12th Man Association which funds the AD. Rick Perry was a Yell Leader as well. At my Dad's funeral they had 17 Former Yell Leaders show up from the Class of '48 to Present and we ended his Celebration of Life with a Yell Practice.
Some of the movements have continued to get exaggerated over time. My Dad actually got annoyed with it, they didn't used to be so animated. Things change over time. When I was in school it was still the top elected position by far. All of the Yell Leaders also got more women than anyone else I knew, if they showed up at a party they literally could pick who they were going to bang that night.
I get why it seems weird as hell from the outside. As A&M is now 65k students with equal M/F ratio and only about 2k in the Corps the tradition has gotten further and further away from where it began and a smaller and smaller percentage of Aggies have any connection to where the school came from.
I expect at some point it will probably die or be changed to the point it is unrecognizable. Probably when a woman wins election to one of the 5 slots. I love the Dance Team and hope they can continue to find a role for them and they should.
I know a lot of SEC folks will never get it and that's fine, Aggies generally DGAF about people thinking they are weird.
We missed you, Aggressor.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 11:19 am to Turf Taint
quote:
The yell leaders, though. I tried to appreciate this one. Conceptually. I really did. But I just can’t. At all. I actually cringe when I see them.
I know “either you are an Aggie or you just don’t understand” (or some such), but are all Aggies ALL IN for the yell leader tradition?
Need to mix in cheerleaders with the yell leaders. That is something that a lot of Aggies would appreciate
Posted on 8/7/21 at 11:30 am to Turf Taint
quote:
...but are all Aggies ALL IN for the yell leader tradition?
Grumpy old man here, and this will not be a popular reply among Aggies. The current incarnation of yell leaders are nothing like they were back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I went to A&M. Wife (Mississippi native) and I attended midnight yell practice a few years back and after 5 minutes she looked at me and in all seriousness asked "Are they all gay?" They sure as hell act like it. The fake pushups are frustrating to watch since all of those guys are ripped and can obviously do pushups... but they don't. Back in the day... well, nevermind. All of the gay hugging bugs me worse than anything. Just stop that shite! I later asked an older yell leader from our company, in case I had forgotten, if they did all that gay shite. "No, I don't know what the hell is wrong with those guys."
So you're not alone. They bug 60-year old Aggies, too. And get off my lawn!
Posted on 8/7/21 at 12:01 pm to finestfirst79
Yep, my Dad felt the same way. Not sure why they have gotten so exaggerated with all the animated crap. It's not "Old Army". Seems like every year it gets more animated too.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 12:04 pm to finestfirst79
quote:
Wife (Mississippi native) and I attended midnight yell practice a few years back and after 5 minutes she looked at me and in all seriousness asked "Are they all gay?" They sure as hell act like it.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 12:13 pm to SidewalkTiger
The yells are whack....for some reason Aggies thinks this makes them intimidating but, IN REALITY, its a bunch of organized non sense. Nobody trembles in fear when they do a yell. Intimidation is created through chaos.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 12:18 pm to SoonerSteve
That picture is terrible and cringy as hell. That said, I know that guy and he’s one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 1:05 pm to UTprideofTX
We'll do what we want.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 1:27 pm to L S Usetheforce
quote:
yells are whack....for some reason Aggies thinks this makes them intimidating but, IN REALITY, its a bunch of organized non sense
The yells are just us having fun. It ain't that deep, fam
We're just up there acting a fool for the most part and having a blast.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 1:31 pm to TbirdSpur2010
Seriously. Why are people so triggered by this?
It’s a sideshow at a frick8ng football game. Most people are more interested in what’s happening on the field.
Move on.
It’s a sideshow at a frick8ng football game. Most people are more interested in what’s happening on the field.
Move on.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 1:51 pm to Wellborn
quote:
Seriously. Why are people so triggered by this?
It’s a sideshow at a frick8ng football game. Most people are more interested in what’s happening on the field.
Move on
Posted on 8/7/21 at 1:56 pm to Wellborn
quote:
Seriously. Why are people so triggered by this?
You could hold a gun to my head and I couldn’t tell you what happens on other teams’ sidelines.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 2:13 pm to Turf Taint
We’re an easy target but one of the best parts of college football that makes it special and unique is all the crazy arse traditions and differences between university cultures.
That’s the primary reason I love being in the SEC. Tons of universities, programs, and local communities with their own special quirks and way of life.
That’s the primary reason I love being in the SEC. Tons of universities, programs, and local communities with their own special quirks and way of life.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 2:14 pm to Turf Taint
Show us on the doll where the milk man touched you.
Posted on 8/7/21 at 2:27 pm to JetDawg
In reference to 1960’s USC pic. 6-1-2-3-5-4
Posted on 8/7/21 at 2:29 pm to SidewalkTiger
That gif is truly apropos of nothing vis a vis the topic at hand, but you do you, bruh
Posted on 8/7/21 at 2:39 pm to Turf Taint
They wear all white so as to be more easily seen by everyone in the stadium for the coordination of the yells.
That's also why their body movements and gesticulations are large/grandiose/histrionic.
We didn't have any female students back then, so they started out as all-male, for many decades.
Females can and have run for yell leader, and it's only a matter of time until we have one.
I totally get others not understanding or disliking it.
Almost all Aggies I've ever met love most of the yells we do, and our yell leaders coordinate that during the games and Yell Practices.
As an Aggie, I support it, just as I do the traditions of other schools that make them unique.
That's also why their body movements and gesticulations are large/grandiose/histrionic.
We didn't have any female students back then, so they started out as all-male, for many decades.
Females can and have run for yell leader, and it's only a matter of time until we have one.
I totally get others not understanding or disliking it.
Almost all Aggies I've ever met love most of the yells we do, and our yell leaders coordinate that during the games and Yell Practices.
As an Aggie, I support it, just as I do the traditions of other schools that make them unique.
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