Aggies, you are a superstitious bunch.
That became all too clear eight years ago in a stunning March Madness upset. A 15-0 run allowed the Aggies to take control in an 86-65 rout of national champion North Carolina.
Text messages began appearing after each basket. “Do not move. Do not change anything.”
Apparently, Aggies everywhere refused to change anything for fear of interrupting A&M’s mojo.
That was quite eye-opening. However, the king of Aggie superstition was crowned two years ago, with A&M super fan Robert Escobar perched upon the … throne.
A&M went into the seventh inning of a Super Regional game trailing Oregon, 8-4.
Likewise, Escobar went into the bathroom. While there, he received a text message from his son, watching the game on television in Mississippi, that Ali Camarillo had walked. A message that Kaeden Kent singled followed. The next message implored Escobar to stay put so as not to interrupt the mojo.
Forty-one minutes later, Escobar left the bathroom with the Aggies holding a 13-8 lead and well on their way to the Men’s College World Series.
You ask why repeat these stories now? Well, there’s a good reason.
While I was on vacation last week, Texas A&M had one of the best offseason weeks in its sports history.
Softball coach Trisha Ford got a commitment from Madison Azua, the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year last season.
Volleyball coach Jamie Morrison hit a trifecta of big-time commitments with attackers Maija Mortensen, Amari Frazier and Maya Ogbogu. Ogbogu is considered the top prospect in the nation.
Also, tennis star Lucciana Perez was named women’s National Player of the Year.
That was just the women.
Football coach Mike Elko secured commitments from receiver Trey Haddad and five-star linebacker Kaden Henderson. Henderson is the No. 1-rated linebacker in the nation. A&M beat out LSU and Notre Dame for him.
Meanwhile, legendary Aggie quarterback Edd Hargett was selected for induction into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame, and Scott Livingstone was named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
But nobody had a better week than baseball coach Michael Earley.
He needs pitching. So, he went out and secured commitments from five transfer pitchers — Johnny Nuanez (Wichita State), Jase Evangelista (UNLV), Caleb Kimble (Houston), Logan Prisco (South Carolina) and Wade Cooper (Texas State).
The Aggies also added catcher Nate Savoie, an All-ACC selection at Clemson.
Then, Earley hired ace recruiter Nolan Cain away from Texas.
Speaking of Texas, the Longhorns were eliminated from the College World Series, so Judas Schlossnagle was again denied a national championship.
How do you feel about that, Aggies?
Yeah, I know it’s selfish of me to ask that question, but I couldn’t wait to … uh … write that.
Anyway, all that happened while I was on paid vacation.
There’s still some big-time recruits out there considering A&M.
So, as not to risk interrupting Aggies’ momentum, perhaps Liucci should pay me not to come to work for a few more weeks.
You don’t want to jeopardize A&M's mojo, right, Billy?
Right, Billy?
Billy…
