I have read this board for about 8 months now. I heard about it right before the A&M/ Tech game last September, and just started reading it to get a take on what other football fans are talking about. I must say that game at Kyle Field was an amazing experience. Some things were simply unbelievable- and I'll leave it at that.
A little background-
1.I hate Texas more than any school on the planet, thus, we have one degree of commonality.
2.At my job in high school, my boss was an aggie(class of 62 or 63, I believe)His wife was an OU grad. He became a mentor of sorts, and we talked alot about what it meant to be an Aggie in those days in the Corps, and most importantly how bad Texas sucks. Do you detect a trend yet?
3. I went to Tech, while also serving in the Marine Corps, so there is a natural curiosity about the Corps of Cadets, as well. I'm still wondering about a few things on that subject.
4. I work in an area just east of B-CS, so I have an interest in what football fans of the biggest program in the area are thinking.
5. In my wife's family, about 1/2 of the folks that went to college went to A&M, and the majority of other half went to Tech. Let's just say there is a wee little bit of interest in what the "other side" is doing.
6. I must say when I'm having a bad day, I can almost bank on the likelyhood that something on here is going to make me laugh.
7. many of the replies to this thread talk about the "envy of Aggie" or "settling for the lowest school." guess what, I have worked with folks from both schools that I admired tremendously, and some that I wondered how much it cost them for their degree. I don't envy A&M one iota, in fact I question alot of the mindset of the "tradition" and "if you're not one of us, you wouldn't understand." That is where the accusations of "cult" and "backwoods" come in. in all honesty, it doesn't matter where your degree is from, I've had aggies tell me they really liked working for me.
8. Some would say Tech is the 3rd "brother" as far as schools go in Texas- although some would probably say we're just the [censored] brother. Any way, I am the 3rd of 3 boys in my family. guess what, ever since we started comparing report cards, bench maxes, athletic accolades, ect; I have wanted to beat them in everything I do, thus a rivalry is born, but it is a positive one. I have never wanted to be my brothers, just to beat them. it doesn't mean i don't respect or admire them, but I am happy doing my own thing.- same goes for Tech. trust me, after what I witnessed at Kyle Field( and I don't mean on the playing field) I am firmly convinced that not going to A&M was one of the best decisions ever made in my life.
9. Accusing Tech of being obsessed with Aggie, when there are copious amounts of your board dedicated to subjects such as "Who do you want to beat more- OU or Tech?" or " Why can't Fran beat Tech when we have more talent" is just blatantly false. You might find Aggie jokes or something on a Red Raider board, but that's about it. Aggiefan has a complex about why everyone is laughing at them. i guess you have to be on the outside to get it.
10. looking at another school/ fanbase's message board could lead to understanding of another mindset, which would be very helpful for some on here. This would alleviate much of the "Ostrich head in the sand" syndrome that exists in aggieland, but, rather, it is impuned as being jealous or stupid. Yep, y'all are right, everyone else is wrong. one could never learn anything by looking at what the opposition is doing. I look at hornsfan.com, OU boards, and as much other football as I have time for. It doesn't mean I want to be those fans- I just want to hear what they're saying.
Texags is a great site. I especially like the "Favorite Aggie pictures" thread. there is a lot of good discussion on here. Y'all can make fun of our degrees/ IQ and such, whatever helps you sleep at night. I see this behavior as being an elitist, just like a sip. Y'all are doing exactly what you accuse TU fans of doing. It's more than ironic to me, that fans as "classy" and "traditional" as Aggies would resort to these antics so that they may feel better about who they are.
For the good Aggies- here's to competing well against each other.
For those who want to degrade Tech- why didn't you just go to texas, you'd fit in great there.
Vegetarian is an old indian word for "Bad Hunter"