re: Aggies - enlighten me on E. King Gill - the original 12th man.

quote:

---

At LSU, we are proud of our student body for yelling whatever obscenities it takes to motivate our team or getting the coaches to take corrective action.

It's a valuable service we provide.

Also, piss balloons.

---

Time honoured traditions like the 12th man and STTDB are what make this conference great.

Unsubstantiated rumor: Slocum didn't like the "all walk-ons kickoff team" becasue it was Jackie's idea; and he used the TD return that was allowed (v Texas Tech) to justify getting rid of it.

I tend to think it was exactly what Slocum often stated: It was catching up to us.

I'm a Dennis Franchione despiser; however, I'll say this for him: A couple of times, he brought back the tradition of an entire KOT of walk-ons. From wiki:

quote:

---

In the spirit of the original 12th Man, the football coach Jackie Sherrill created the "12th Man Kickoff Team" in the 1980s composed of non-athletic scholarship students who tried out for the team instead of players who were recruited, as is the normal practice in college football. Coach Sherrill has written a book entitled "No Experience Required" which details this team and the tradition. These students were placed on the roster for the sole purpose of kickoffs. Each player was given a number to wear (at the time NCAA regulations did not prohibit more than one person on the field with the same number) and nicknamed "the suicide squad," many kick return teams feared the walk-on students who were determined to leave their mark in Aggie lore; these students often had little regard for their safety and were determined to make a tackle at any cost.[5][6] 12th Man kickoff team performed very well and held opponents to one of the lowest yards per return averages in the league.[7] Later, head coach R. C. Slocum changed the team to allow only one representative of the 12th Man on the kick off team who wears uniform number 12.[1] The player is chosen based on the level of determination and hard work shown in practices. Under Dennis Franchione, the "12th Man Kickoff Team", entirely made up of walk-ons, was brought back, though used only rarely when the team is up by quite a few points.[8][9]

---

quote:

---

Unsubstantiated rumor: Slocum didn't like the "all walk-owns kickoff team" becasue it was Jackie's idea; but he used the one TD return (v Texas Tech) to justify getting rid of it.

---

That's what I thought I heard.

Good post.

That all walk on 12thman team was HIGHLY effective from 83-90, and the TD given up in '90 agst Tech was the only one.
Some of the loudest times I've ever heard any stadium anywhere was when that KO team would take the field in a big game..
When you combine a group of 15 (whittled down from 100-200 who try out) with little regard for their bodies and whose only aim is to run down the field and punish someone ... Well some of the collisions were memorable.

Great stuff, Cheese Grits.

I can tell you grew up in the sensationalist era. You want a story about a 4 foot tall blind cripple taking the field with no pads or helmet, breaking 50 tackles on a 100-yard touchdown run with time expiring to win the national championship against the all-star squad for the Dallas Motherfricking Cowboys, and dying from his injuries after the game.

That's because you have zero understanding of true greatness.

It's rarely the guy accomplishing huge feats against impossible odds that defines greatness. It's the guy quietly doing what he can when needed, great or small, willing to sacrifice for his friends and family, no matter how mundane the task.

E. King Gill was ready and willing. He wasn't asked to win the game--just be ready. That's what is asked of our students. Our team knows that we stand with them. They know we've got their backs. Even if they go down injured, we will take up the banner and fight on.

Here's a hint: there's so much more to this than just football.

Hope that helps. Troll on and keep screaming "suck that tiger dick."

I always thought that the A&M football insanity was well suited for the SEC.

Did not think that about Missouri until I learned about their tradition of piling rocks in the endzone in the shape of an 'M' and painting them before every game.

Now that's the type of bizarre football insanity that fits right in with the rest of us.

quote:

---

Great stuff, Cheese Grits.

---

It is why I think TAMU fits in the SEC. If they had not listened to their dumb big brother and left the SIAA for the SWC they would have been a charter SEC school. Tejas tried to get LSU and Ole Miss to leave with TAMU but they just were not buying what a poo orange nutless bovine was selling.

TAMU is like the lost tribe of Israel who wandered before reuniting with the other tribes.

long story short:

A&M was so bad one year the coaches made a bet with each other that they could pull random kids out from the stands and they would do just as well. They were proven correct and aggy made a tradition out if it.