Your Guide to a Texas A&M Football Gameday

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

There are college football games, and then there are Texas Aggie Football gamedays. Visiting College Station is a full weekend commitment involving Midnight Yell, military pageantry, and 45 other traditions someone will happily explain to you.

The biggest mistake a first-time visitor can make is treating kickoff as the beginning of the experience. To do Aggieland properly, you need to start early, HYDRATE, apply Gold Bond, wear comfortable shoes and HYDRATE some more.

Start Friday Night at Midnight Yell

Yes, it really happens at midnight.

On the Friday night before each home football game, Aggies gather inside Kyle Field to practice yells, sing the Aggie War Hymn and hear the Yell Leaders tell stories about how thoroughly A&M will beat the hell outta that week’s opponent. Visitors are welcome, and the experience includes cannon fire, questionable push-ups, and a sudden darkness when Aggies kiss their dates. It is part pep rally and part ceremonial summoning of college football hype.

Get there well before midnight if you want to see what’s happening. You do not need to know the yells beforehand. Watch the Yell Leaders, copy the hand signals and follow along and give it your best shot.

Make a Parking Plan

Saturday morning is not the time to look at your group and suggest just figuring it out.

Texas A&M football tickets and athletic parking passes are fully digital, so download everything to your phone’s wallet before leaving your hotel. Kyle Field opens 90 minutes before kickoff, but your arrival on campus should be much earlier than that.

One of the least stressful options is to park in Downtown Bryan, eat or walk around for a while and take the free gameday shuttle to the Memorial Student Center. That shuttle begins running three hours before kickoff and continues until one hour after the game. Texas A&M also operates several on-campus and off-campus gameday routes.

Whichever plan you choose, choose it before Saturday.

Tailgate

Aggie Park, directly beside Kyle Field, is now one of the centers of the Texas A&M tailgating universe. It is an excellent place to walk around, meet people and take in the pregame atmosphere. It is not, however, a place where you can simply arrive with three folding tables and declare ownership of a patch of grass. All free and paid tailgating spaces in Aggie Park require reservations.

Visitors who are not setting up their own tailgate should still spend time wandering through the area. Say “Howdy!” mention that it is your first trip and there’s a good chance someone will feed you.

Aggies know they can seem a little unusual from the outside, but they take genuine pride in welcoming visiting fans. Introduce yourself and you have a good chance of being offered food, a drink and a complicated explanation of an A&M tradition you did not ask about but will somehow enjoy hearing.

Eat something substantial. Drink water. Wear sunscreen.

Build the Afternoon Backward from Kickoff

Texas A&M packs enough activity into the hours before the game that you could miss the actual game while trying to experience gameday.

The Aggie Fan Zone outside the north end of Kyle Field opens three and a half hours before kickoff, with food, drinks, games, family activities and live broadcasts. Kids’ Yell Practice begins two and a half hours before kickoff, followed shortly by the team’s Spirit Walk about two hours and 15 minutes before the game.

The event I would prioritize, especially for a first visit, is the Corps of Cadets march. The Corps, accompanied by the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, marches from the Quad toward Kyle Field before home games. It is one of those moments that makes the day feel much bigger than a sporting event. You hear the drums coming before you can see the formation, and then suddenly the entire street is filled with cadets, music and people holding up phones.

After the march, start moving toward your gate. Do not wait until 15 minutes before kickoff.

Once Inside Kyle Field, Commit to the Experience

First, check the stadium bag rules before leaving for campus. Texas A&M uses the SEC’s clear-bag policy and the “12-1-1” rule.

Once you reach your seats, pay attention to what the crowd is doing. Aggies do not have traditional cheerleaders at football games; they have Yell Leaders. Pretend you understand exactly what is happening.

Students stand throughout the game as the 12th Man, continuing a tradition that traces back to E. King Gill standing ready to enter a game in 1922. Guests outside the student section are not required to remain upright for four hours, but expect to spend plenty of time on your feet whenever the game gets tense.

During the Aggie War Hymn, fans link together and sway as they “saw varsity’s horns off.” Join in!

Stick around for halftime. The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band is the largest collegiate military marching band in the country, performs a new drill at each home game and is famous for formations that don’t seem physically possible. Aggies like to say the band has never lost a halftime.

Avoid Traffic After the Game

When the game ends, resist the urge to sprint immediately to your vehicle unless you want to sit motionless listening to Louie Belina take calls from drunk fans on the radio.

Walk around campus, return to a tailgate or find something to eat. Northgate sits just across from campus and contains more than 20 bars, restaurants and entertainment spots. The Dixie Chicken remains the classic choice for a burger, cold drink and Tijuana fries.

Downtown Bryan is another good postgame option, particularly if you parked there and used the shuttle. By the time you finish eating, traffic may have become someone else’s problem.

The Real Secret to a Great Aggie Gameday

Wear maroon. Bring comfortable shoes. Put your ticket in your mobile wallet. Check the official transportation and stadium information before leaving. Arrive earlier than seems necessary, because it will become necessary almost immediately.

But mostly, participate. Say “Howdy.” Try the yells. Sway during the War Hymn. Watch the Corps march and stay in your seat for the band. You do not need to understand every tradition before you arrive. Half the fun is realizing that thousands of people around you do and they are generally delighted to explain all of them.

You will probably leave Kyle Field tired, and you may also find yourself trying to explain the experience to someone who was not there. The Aggies have a phrase for that, too: it is the Spirit that can ne’er be told.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos