An oral history of the 1999 Bonfire Game

I'm only going to link the intro b/c I don't think a few out of context quotes will do the narrative justice. There are comments from RC Slocum, Mack Brown, Randy McCown, Brian Gamble, Shane Lechler and more. Greatest/saddest/most emotional game I ever attended all rolled into one. Reading this caused a lot of emotions to come flooding back to me so for those who also read it be prepared to tear up multiple times.

quote:

---

It is often described as the most important victory in Texas A&M football history, though there was no championship trophy involved or even significant bragging rights.

This game meant something different. On Nov. 26, 1999, the Aggies played the Texas Longhorns for the 106th time, but the pageantry and vitriol of one of college football’s greatest rivalries took a back seat. The A&M campus was in deep mourning. Eight days prior, the 90th edition of the Aggie Bonfire collapsed.

The towering log stack, which students built each year and then burned the night before the Texas game to represent the “burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u.,” stood at 40 feet on its way to a completion height of 55 feet. The structure held an estimated 5,000 logs at the time of its collapse. Eleven students and one former student were killed: Miranda Denise Adams, Christopher David Breen, Michael Stephen Ebanks, Jeremy Richard Frampton, Jamie Lynn Hand, Christopher Lee Heard, Timothy Doran Kerlee Jr., Lucas John Kimmel, Bryan Allan McClain, Chad Anthony Powell, Jerry Don Self and Nathan Scott West. Twenty-seven Aggies were injured.

The unthinkable tragedy devastated the campus and the Bryan-College Station community. Football was the last thing on anyone’s mind. But after a week of sorrow and loss among the Aggie family, the game went on at Kyle Field. It was an emotional scene, from pregame tributes to moving halftime performances by both university bands. And in the end, with many who witnessed it in tears, the Aggies were victorious over the highly ranked Longhorns.

As the 20th anniversary of the Bonfire collapse approaches, here is a look back at some of those moments from those who were there in November 1999.

---

LINK




Also, for those who might want to see it again, here is a link to the full game.

LINK