When you read the latest Friday with Fran you will find another piece of yet-to-be-completed puzzle was added when the team was given Maroon bands with the words "Texas A&M" on them. They were instructed to only put this on when they would give their all to the team. . .to live this year, this season, with One Heartbeat. . .

We have seen in the first game of the season what looked to be little bit of loss in composure and a lot of inexperience. All this said, there was effort. . . maybe not yet the fire of passion where all is left on the field but there is a small flame there. . .we need that fire, that flame that Bonfire immortalized, to be there . .

The challenge to issue to all who call A&M their home and heart, is to answer this adversity with the stuff that makes our school so great- With One Heart- as One Family.

This is a challenge to each person to make this commitment and to show the team this by wearing a maroon "band" of ribbon and/or actual band if you can procure one. . .and to find the resolve that while this is tough- we will FIGHT through all of this and that we are one with our team. . that we will back our team. . those are OUR boys out there and THIS IS TEXAS A&M.

Visualize our boys looking up in to the stands and knowing the 12th Man is wearing those Maroon bands and is in One Heartbeat with them on the field. . .I can not think of anything more that would make me want to give it all I had on that field of play. . .

We Will Not Back Down. We Will Not Settle. We Will Fight With Everything We Have. We Will Play Like Warrior Poets and Champions.

Let the 12th Man of old and new lead this Call. . .and let that Fire be reignited again . . .

[This message has been edited by ONEARMY (edited 9/6/2004 8:01p).]

[This message has been edited by ONEARMY (edited 9/6/2004 8:01p).]

That's great and all, but I'd rather have some defensive backs that can run under a 4.7.

Style over substance. We have never needed maroon bands to prove we are behind the team in the past and we don't need them now.

That's pretty gay.

Mack Brown did the "one heartbeat" thing with tu about three years ago. Not a new gimmick. How about one guaranteed buttkicking for both players and coaches that don't perform?

DDP

[This message has been edited by Wahoo82 (edited 9/6/2004 11:38a).]

I'm all for showing support for the team, but I don't think rubber bands are they way to go.

If the boys aren't already inspired by the roaring presence of the 12th Man and prestige of representing the world's finest university, I don't think rubber bands are going to make much of a difference.

Wear maroon, and wear your ring!! That should be enough.

Let me put it to you this way.

WHile our staff was in the locker room trading braclets and holding hands, the Utah staff was in the other locker room schemeing and talking about kicking our teeth down our throats.

My question is, do these braclets have the little charms that the players can trade with each other?

Maybe we can wear them while we all go see the movie Miracle again.

If we won, each one of you would want one of those "rubber bands"

I'm all for using good ideas, but this is getting out of control. One heartbeat--courtesy of Mack Brown, No Name Jerseys--courtesy of "Miracle", Wrist Bands--courtesy of Lance Armstrong...just play football!

Nice try ONEARMY, you are a brave soul trying to post anything that might be encouraging or positive here. The Ags on Texags are absolutely out of control with raping and looting and shooting their own wounded at this time to actually try to offer something that could be construed as positive and supportive!

I have never seen anything like this in my life where Ags have cannabilized each other to this extent so quickly and so ruthlessly.

Your dealing with a MOB onearmy, at least here. These guys have allowed a game played by young men to be the dominant factor of their social and emotional life.

As Benjamin Franklin said, pre revoloutionary war, "Passion rules here and she never rules wisely!"

Thought out post that might build up a little positive encouragement will be shouted down, called stupid, gay, etc. Of course they won't offer anything back.

With fans and friends like these, who needs enemies!



"only one thing is important!"

What I'm saying is I'd rather see some "on the field" innovation, rather than more "off the field" ideas.

We have a pathetic product that we are trying to sell right now. A catchy new wristband just aint going to get it.

I think what they people here are trying to say is that they're ready for some results, not just another contrived "tradition" to motivate our football team.

(QUOTE)
Visualize our boys looking up in to the stands and knowing the 12th Man is wearing those Maroon bands and is in One Heartbeat with them on the field. . .I can not think of anything more that would make me want to give it all I had on that field of play. .

Once again, I say that rubber bands shouldn't make the difference between the Ags giving it all or not. At some point, they should want to show up on their own.

Can it hurt? No. Will it help? No. Will the athletic department crack down on black-market maroon rubber bands and make sure everyone pays $5 for a university-approved one? Yes.

Rah-rah is good, but A&M already has a lot of that. Once again, if the Aggies aren't inspired by playing for A&M and representing the 12th Man, what good will rubber bands do?

Optimism is good. Hopefullness is good. Rubber bands as a solution to this football team's problems is not as good. Hard work and dedication is what's needed here, not another item to take/wear/shout/buy for gameday.

I thought "One Heartbeat" was from Bear Bryant.

Why is Mack Brown receiving credit 50 years later?

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Your dealing with a MOB onearmy, at least here. These guys have allowed a game played by young men to be the dominant factor of their social and emotional life.

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This needs to be posted on the front page of texags. I've got to assume that most of these folks have so little life experience that they just have no patience, perspective, or wisdom.

Thanks ONEARMY, you've no idea how such sentiments will help the team. IMO our teams problems aren't coaching or talent. They are mental and, if you will, emotional. It's almost like a team-wide low level depression. What we NEED, is a butt-kicking win combined with overwhelming Aggie (students, former students, community, EVERYONE) SUPPORT. You guys that poo-poo these things are, in a small way, part of the problem. Your comments regarding the play on the field, while sometimes accurate, add ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to the Aggie community. The coaches see everything you do and much of which you cannot conceive.

Try being a part of the solution rather than the problem. Don't underestimate the power of community groupthink!

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Hard work and dedication is what's needed here,

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GEEZ, THEY'RE ALREADY DOING THAT! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEADS. MOST OF OUR PROBLEMS ARE "BETWEEN THE EARS" ONES! BITCHING ABOUT IT DOESN'T HELP ONE BIT. JUST GROW UP AND STOP IT!!!!

[This message has been edited by cecil77 (edited 9/6/2004 12:37p).]

Shouldn't 80,000 people screaming til they have bronchitis, making this stadium one of the hardest in the nation to play at; shouldn't that be enough motivation to leave it all on the field. I mean... c'mon.

Amen cecil77. Well said.

Adversity will not divide us. We will surmount it,
and we will move forward together.
– Dennis Franchione

Here's a challenge to the team...

Play some ****ing football or sit your ass down!

This is getting out of hand. Perhaps Fran and Co. should spend more time coaching and less time memorizing the lyrics to "kumbaya". Anybody know when the Queer Eye team shows up to makeover the locker rooms?

No, maybe fans should trust that the coaches have a good idea of where the real problems lie and are doing their darndest to manufacture a solution! Ever think of that?

Reminds me of when Lou Holtz was the coach of the NY Jets. At one point he was found in his office not coming up wtih new plays, but writing a freaking fight song for the team. I guess when you're down you have to find new ways to motivate the team. I think if I were playing about all I'd need as motivation is that my team lost 4 or 5 games by 40+ last year. No need to worry about names on jersies or bracelets or whatever. I'd be worried about my assignments, and whipping the guy's ass who was my assginment play to play. But that's just me. I think maybe we are making this game a lot more complicated than it really is.

To shed some background where I am coming from- I helped facilitate the 12th Man Towel Out against OU in 2000 and Red, White, & Blue Out in 2001 (incl. visiting NYC to help give the checks from A&M's efforts) as well as having been at the t.u. game of '99 after having been at the fields for days trying to help our fallen Ags. . . there are things more important than the games. . .there is protrayal of "the stuff" we are made of. . .what our Family is made of. . .

Our problem right now is not level of talent or strength. . .and yes I do believe in something like this because I have seen the power of the individual when motivated by something larger than the one. . .

[This message has been edited by ONEARMY (edited 9/6/2004 12:56p).]

"You must learn how to hold a team together. You must lift some men up, calm others down, until finally they've got one heartbeat. Then you've got yourself a team." Paul "Bear" Bryant


"I think the most important thing of all for any team is a winning attitude. The coaches must have it. The players must have it. The student body must have it. If you have dedicated players who believe in themselves, you don't need a lot of talent." -- Paul "Bear" Bryant


"The idea of molding men means a lot to me." -- Paul "Bear" Bryant

I remember making posts like OPAG's and cecil's back when RC was the coach. It's funny how quickly some people switch from complainee to apologist and rationalizer, and vice-versa.


I support Fran. I just would have liked to have seen some improvement Thursday night when compared to the debacle of last season. Does that make me a bad guy?


This maroon rubberband one heartbeat stuff reminds me of the passing fad of 12th Man towels. They were fun for about 10 years, but we don't see them much anymore. We can buy all the props and gimmicks we want, but nothing gets the spirit back better than seeing some progress for the money we're paying.

"I'll never give up on a player regardless of his ability as long as he never gives up on himself. In time he will develop." -- Paul "Bear" Bryant

"I have always tried to teach my players to be fighters. When I say that, I don't mean put up your dukes and get in a fistfight over something. I'm talking about facing adversity in your life. There is not a person alive who isn't going to have some awfully bad days in their lives. I tell my players that what I mean by fighting is when your house burns down, and your wife runs off with the drummer, and you've lost your job and all the odds are against you. What are you going to do? Most people just lay down and quit. Well, I want my people to fight back." -- Paul "Bear" Bryant

"People who are in it for their own good are individualists. They don't share the same heartbeat that makes a team so great. A great unit, whether it be football or any organization, shares the same heartbeat." -- Paul "Bear" Bryant

So just because we don't like the wristband thing, we are branded as having "no life experience" and "raping and looting and shooting our own wounded"? Sensationalize much?

Give me a break. As I said before, my problem with it is simply that is just more style over substance. I'm all for the unity of the 12th Man but do you really think a bunch of people in the stands wearing maroon rubber bands on their wrists is going to inspire the team to victory more than anything we are already doing? If you do, then I'm thinking you are very naive and it is you that has lacked "life experience".

This team needs our support by having us there and yelling for them and making as much noise as we can to disrupt the other team's offense. That is our role. We don't need some hokey gimmick to add to that. Beyond that, our players need to concentrate on their assignments both offensively and defensively. Something that looking up in the stands and seeing wristbands is not going to help.

My guess is there are quite a few players on this team that think the wristband idea is just as cheesy as we do but not wearing them would be career suicide.

[This message has been edited by TAMU_91 (edited 9/6/2004 1:11p).]

The idea of the band (and keep in mind it was a shared IDEA) is the external representation of the internal re-commitment. Please re-read the first post and understand the substance over the style.

OneArmy, I'm standing up with you. Here!

Number1Ag

Some of us don't need to be "re-committed". I think my presence alone on Saturday will fulfill what you are trying to accomplish with your wristband or ribbon. That is all just more liberal feel good crap that does nothing just like all those celebrities wearing their aids ribbons.

The problem is not with the fans and it is not going to be fixed by anything the fans do.

[This message has been edited by TAMU_91 (edited 9/6/2004 1:22p).]

TTT- for discussions sake. . .

and to think, franchione left alabama to get away from people like this....

No, he left 'Bama to get away from people that asked him to sign their bibles.

(which happened at a FCA banquet shortly after Fran arrived at Alabama)

i have a hard time picturing a bunch of young men from the mean streets of texas and louisiana being very supportive of the bracelets thing

ONEARMY,

I hope you understand that my comments regarding this particular "gimmick" were in no way meant to diminish the GENUINE spirit and fellowship of Red, White, & Blue Out or the '99 Bonfire game. This latest "team-building" approach is a little forced IMHO and fails to address the true problems. Namely, poor coaching and poor play.

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It's funny how quickly some people switch from complainee to apologist and rationalizer, and vice-versa.

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You'd be surprised at the number of people who fully supported both coaches. ONEARMY makes a great point and though it may not necessarily have to be wrist bands, this team needs all the support it can get and with that dedication you can bet that a special moment will occur during the season that will mark the return of a great football team.