re: Now that aTm and SCAR have been forced into a rivalry

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Unlike many schools, which have a large group of cheerleaders to rally their fans during sporting events, Texas A&M has five student Cheer Leaders. Consisting of three seniors and two juniors, historically all male, the Cheer Leaders are elected to their positions annually by the student body. These students do not perform gymnastic feats, but instead use hand signals, known as "pass backs," to quickly direct and intensify crowds [30,000+ students/12th Man]. After the signals are passed through the crowd, the Cheer Leaders give the signal to "hump it," where the crowd leans forward and places their hands on their knees to maximize the noise. The Cheer Leaders have a dozen cheers that they can choose from depending on the situation. While some cheers are designed to praise and motivate the team, others exist solely to make fun of the opposing side.

Students practice the cheers at Midnight Cheer Practice. Held at Kyle Field at midnight the night before a football game, Midnight Cheer is similar to a pep rally. Over 20,000 Aggies attend each session, practicing the cheers that will be used in the following day's game and generating an excitement for the game. At the conclusion of the cheer practice, the stadium lights are extinguished and fans kiss their dates. This is also done as practice, because Aggies are expected to "mug down," or kiss their dates, every time the football team scores on the field. Sports Illustrated named Midnight Cheer as one of the "100 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate."

Aggies practice their cheers again after each football game. If the team is victorious, the freshmen in the Corps of Cadets capture the Cheer Leaders on Kyle Field and march them across campus to be dunked in Fish Pond. The very wet Cheer Leaders then make their way to the YMCA Building, where the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band and members of the crowd join them for a short cheer practice in preparation for the next week's game.[62] If the team is "outscored" or "runs out of time" (Aggies never lose), a mini-Cheer Practice is held in Kyle Field before the crowd disperses.

The most well-known Aggie cheer is the simple "Beat the Hell Outta" the opposing school. In writing, this is often abbreviated as BTHO. For the annual game against the University of Texas at Austin, students cheer "Beat the Hell Outta t.u."Booing is strongly discouraged, and an upset Aggie will instead hiss their opponents or the referees. If a referee call is especially egregious in the minds of the Aggies, the Cheer Leaders will call for the "Horse Laugh," a cheer that ends with a stadium wide hissing

After each cheer, students make a noise and a hand motion that is known as a wildcat. Each class has a separate wildcat, and students caught "pulling out," or using the wildcat of a higher class, are often forced to do pushups as punishment. Freshmen raise their hands above their heads and cheer "AAAA". Sophomores, symbolically pushing back on the seniors, chant "A!" five times, waving their hands up and down in front of the torso with their index fingers extended and thumbs perpendicular. Juniors cheer "A! A! A! Whoop!" wrapping their left hand over their right fist, with both index fingers extended and pointing towards the ground, "shooting the ground" once for each "A" and holding the position on the "whoop!" As a symbol of their expert marksmanship, seniors cheer a single "A!" and then "Whoop!" while interlocking their fingers with their index fingers extended and pointed into the air. At the same time, the left foot is raised and tucked behind the right knee. The fingers are interlocked rather than covering the right hand so that the Aggie Ring is visible.]

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