I'm on my fifth wedding ring (third marriage, two others damaged/replaced) but my Aggie ring hasn't been off my hand much since I put it on in 1969. Damn! Has it been 42 years?

The reason Von Miller introduced himself to me in the Orlando Airport was because I had my Aggie ring on! (true story)

Von then proceeded to fly the airplane back to DFW.

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Aggie ring also gives you super powers. Why would anyone forget to mention this is beyond me.

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Rule Number 1 of Fight Club: YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB!!!

Now everyone knows...ban user forever.

Probably better suited for the Rivalries board, but here's a picture of the class ring ceremony at Baylor.

Ok, that didn't work, but Here is the link to the pics from Baylor.

EDIT: Fail, big red X

[This message has been edited by XpressAg09 (edited 10/5/2011 8:32a).]

My Aggie Ring is my most prized possession.

Unlike most Ags, I started at a different university. I did really well academically (i.e., named a "university scholar" my freshman year, won an academic scholarship, etc.). When I transferred to A&M, I was shocked to find myself nearly flunking out and came within a whisker of dropping out. I had to bust my butt to make it and many times wasn't sure if I could. I was far prouder of a 3.0 at A&M than a 4.0 at my other university. Surviving long enough to earn the right to order a ring was a big deal. It was huge. It was an achievement.

My father didn't understand. He had four degrees (yes four) from KU and never felt the need for a ring. I was getting push back on buying it. He talked with a couple of Aggie friends, one who graduated and one who did not. I don't know what they said, but he called and said, "Order the ring."

Before consumer electronics, spinning my ring like a top got me through many boring meetings, presentations, and lunches. I just had to be careful not to distract others too much (makes less noise if you spin it on a notepaper tablet).

One of my best ring stories involved riding the old train at DFW. A bunch of Canadians jumped on from the hotel. They were clearly jazzed about a meeting they just had and talking about their flight back to Calgary. The train map could be confusing if you weren't familiar with it. One of them trying to figure it out had an Aggie ring on. I offered some quick help. The Aggie said, "Thanks."

"Always glad to help another Aggie," I replied.

A couple of the Canadians got big eyes. One of them said, "How'd you know he was an Aggie, eh?"

The Ag was smiling. He'd seen my ring. I said, "It's that certain halo that all Aggies have and only other Aggies can see. This is my stop. Gotta go."

I jumped off the train leaving a bunch of open mouthed Canadians staring from me to their Aggie co-worker, who just grinned.

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I'm on my fifth wedding ring

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UR doing it wrong.


Competing with Liz Taylor?

It’s a symbol of the greatest fraternity on earth.

Fightin Class of 2001

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It is the most important piece of jewerly that I own. It also doubles as my wedding band, just like it did for my father, my grandfather and my father-in-law.

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Agree! Never leaves my left hand....
ಠ_ಠ

Also the bottle opener and super powers (HeadGames needs to be banned over this) are all good!

The big deal is you don't have one.

not like it's a T Ring

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I'll get my aggie ring in 45 days and then my wedding ring about 2 months after that, I'm not sure which one I'm more excited about!

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To help you decide.....which ring will you keep after you find out five years into your marriage that your wife has been riding one of your 'friends' for 6 months?......there's your answer.

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Although many on this thread have made valiant attempts to explain the appeal and meaning of the Aggie Ring, it truly is one of those things about A&M that "from the outside you can't understand it... and from the inside we can't explain it". For many Ags, it's the most valued material possession that they have... it is for me. If I had to choose between my ring and my diploma I'd hand over the sheepskin in a heartbeat. But my ring is part of me... it hasn't been off of my left hand five times in 35 years. It's the link to my classmates and buddies, to the A&M of my past and the A&M of my kids' present and future. The fact that all the rings look the same is, for me, an analogy that's very fitting at how we look at A&M... even though there's a lot of different kinds of fingers that wear that ring, different sexes, colors, creeds, nationalities, political and religious persuasions... at the end of the day we're all Aggies, all the same, and we wear the same ring; it symbolizes what we feel for A&M and what we think the school stands for, and our responsibility to uphold that legacy.

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+1

I'm Class of '83, and I'll bet you I haven't had my ring off my hand more than five times; one of those being when my wife got me a diamond for it. I've got north of 10,000 hours pilot time, been around the world two-dozen times, I've been to 88 countries, I've got two daughters, and I've been married twice. My Aggie ring's been with me every second/mile/passport-stamp/delivery-room/step of the way.

When travelling it often means a free beer for me, or another Aggie I found along the way

When a friend's daughter (neither are Aggies) found an Aggie ring while tubing, she immediately knew what it was, because it looked like my ring. She gave it to me, and I got on TexAgs to find the owner. Within minutes, I had a link to his Facebook page. He's in the Army and was out in the field and missed my FB message. I posted again and someone pointed out his siter's FB page. Unable to get in touch with her, I found her husband's page and got his work website. Gave him a call and he was amazed, but "not surprised" at the lengths we went through to get the ring home. It had been missing for 3 years. He told me that he was a Bear, but his wife and brother in law were Ags and it always amazed him at the lengths Aggies will go to to help each other out. Having once lost my own ring - there was no way I was going to give up until that ring was home.

One example: I was at a bar in Madrid, Spain with 5 other Ag buddies when we hear "What class are ya'll" from behind us ('06). Turn around and there are two Ol Ags with hands extended. We sat and talked about A&M, Texas, football, you name it, for the next 4 hours. Great conversation, and they picked up the 4 hour tab for us. We still keep up through email. Just one example of many, hope this helps.

Thumbs up for this thread!

My dad (Class of '66) used his ring as collateral for a huge loan he needed after college. He was turned down intially until the bank president (also an Ag) found out he was an Aggie. The amount my dad needed was WAY more than his ring cost, but the bank president knew, as an Aggie, that my dad wouldn't welch. He didn't and I got a great example of what the Aggie ring means.

Just last month on a late night flight from Nassau to points south I found myself in a Dash 8 with two other rings. One worked in Indianapolis and the other in the Northeast somewhere. They were both heading to the wedding of a wealthy Cuban and the three of us just happened to intersect inside the tiny, pressurized metal tube somewhere above the Caribbean.

The rapport was immediate.

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The reason Von Miller introduced himself to me in the Orlando Airport was because I had my Aggie ring on! (true story)

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I'm jelly

This is due to the military history in which a great deal was endured to recieve a ring and senior boots. It is simply something special from this that has carried over from this tradition. Pride in school, pride in what you have accomplished and the "club" you now belong too.

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The reason Von Miller introduced himself to me in the Orlando Airport was because I had my Aggie ring on! (true story)

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Damn good stories ALL of them!!





Gig'em

My precious!

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By the way, back in my day, the Former Students Association paid half the cost. I paid $138 and the Assn matched it. My daughter's ring in 2001 was a wee bit more.

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Sorry, but your memory must be a little hazy. Unless you had some sort of scholarship, you paid the full market price for your ring. If you don't believe me, Google the price of gold per ounce back in 1968/1969. The Association has never paid for half, that is one of those rumors that has stuck around for years even though it is not true.

good thing my wife's not on texags 'cause i'm telling you my aggie ring is just as precious to me as the wedding ring i wear on my other hand. i'm especially proud of the fact that it was paid for in the same manner as all of my college expenses - that is, by myself. working summers, christmas breaks, spring breaks and eventually co-oping. 20 yrs later looking down at that ring i get the same rush of pride that i did the day i opened the box it was mailed in. and it fits a little more snug that it used to for some reason.

My Aggie Ring had been lost for at least 3 years. On the morning of my wedding, got a phone call from a stranger who had found my ring. I considered it a wedding present from God!

Heard a story of an Aggie who happened to be African-American & graduated in the 90's that was stranded at an airport in the Carolina's. An "old" Ag (who happened to be Caucasian & graduated in the 50's) & lived there in Carolina noticed the Aggie ring. He invited the stranded Aggie to his house, fed him, treated him like family, and they swapped Aggie stories!

I love this thread so much.

I actually get to hear or read stories like these almost every day, and there are several exhibits just steps from my office dedicated to the Aggie Ring and its history and symbolism, but it never gets old for me. The power of the Aggie Ring is an amazing thing.

(And to GranMaq: thank you for helping put that old chestnut to rest!)


__________________________________________________________
Scot Walker | Director of Communications
The Association of Former Students | Texas A&M University
AggieNetwork@AggieNetwork.com
(979) 845-7514

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November 27, 2000

Lost Texas A&M Ring Returned to Family of World War II Soldier

Excerpts from Texas A&M's "The Battalion On-Line Newspaper"



A piece of Aggie history has returned to Texas A&M after being forgotten in Germany for 56 years.



Medal of Honor recipient 1st. Lt. Turney W. Leonard's Aggie ring came home in a private ceremony. The ring was presented to Turney W. Leonard's only surviving sibling, Mr. Douglas Leonard of Dallas, TX. The ring was returned by German Lt. Volker Lossner, who obtained the ring from his father-in-law, Alfred Hutmacher.



Lossner said Hutmacher found the ring after helping American forces locate the graves of Americans killed during the battle of the Hürtgen Forest and had virtually forgotten about the ring's existence until Lossner expressed an interest in the battle.



Lossner said he didn't immediately understand the significance of the ring, but knew it might be important to someone, so he contacted US Army Col. Thomas Fosnacht to arrange for the ring to be returned.



Contact was made with Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen, who arranged to bring Lossner to Texas A&M for the presentation. It was then that Lossner heard of Turney W. Leonard's story.



1st. Lt. Turney W. Leonard was with the 893rd Tank Destroyer Battalion. His heroism in a fierce 3-day engagement near Kommerscheidt, Germany won him the Medal of Honor. He was last seen at a medical aid station and is believed to have died on November 7, 1944.

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I had dinner in 2005 with German Lt. Volker Lossner at the home of Mr. Henry Goodwin and talking to him was amazing. Mr. Goodwin and eight other old Ags went to Germany and visited with Lossner in 2004. Lt. Lossner gave them the tour of Europe / Germany that most don't get to see, from the Germans perspective. A huge thank you to Lt. Lossner for returning the Aggie ring....

It is the one thing that no matter how old or young, frat or corps or nonreg, football player or ordinary student, liberal or conservative, and current or former student unites us down through the ages.

We are the Aggies, the Aggies are we, true to each other, as Aggies can be.

Per unitatem vis... Through unity strength. Once an Aggie, always an Aggie. We are strong because we are united and our ring is the symbol of that strength.

[This message has been edited by Old_Ag_91 (edited 10/5/2011 6:03p).]

Chicks dig it.

Did we answer your question UA01Duke05?

Easily the most important possession other than my child.

I can't think of a single thing in my home that I'd trade for my ring.

I'd give up EVERYTHING I own for my ring.

If someone found it and I was told I had to walk across the country or I'd never see it again, I'd be out the door in a heartbeat.

Even the most famous and successful Aggies wear their rings...



He's autographing my hat and my daughter's jersey. No, I didn't get to shake his hand because I was the photographer! I did slap him on the back when he walked to the table.

[This message has been edited by buzzardb267 (edited 10/5/2011 10:08p).]