Twenty Years Ago

12-1-88 The big game—Alabama versus Texas A & M in the “Hurricane Bowl”—was finally played, but it turned out to be a dud. Rather than come home after class and then take a bus back to campus, I stayed in the office until 6:30, working at the computer. The day had been beautiful (seventy degrees [Fahrenheit], sunny skies) and the evening was just as pleasant. I arrived at Kyle Field with my blue briefcase forty minutes before the game started. My seat, alas, was not as close to the fifty-yard line as I thought. When looking straight across the field from my seat, I could see the twenty-seven yard line. But I was only twenty or so rows from the bottom of the stands, so I could see much of the play clearly. Across from me were the students, thousands strong. Two permanent signs, “WELCOME TO AGGIELAND” and “HOME OF THE 12TH MAN”, stared me in the face. Before and during the game, Aggie yell leaders led the students in raucous cheers, some designed solely (it seemed) to drown out the cheers of the small coterie of Alabama fans. Now I know why Texas A & M has such a bad reputation and spawns so many jokes. The place is death for opposing teams and fans. Many of the yells are indecipherable except to die-hard Aggies. Moreover, the atmosphere is militaristic. At halftime, a uniformed band (all male, so far as I could tell) marched up and down the field, sabers at their sides. It was quite a sight.

As for the game, well, the Aggies didn’t fare well. Alabama executed flawlessly for the entire game, marching up and down the field like the Aggie band. Meanwhile, the Aggies were fumbling the ball and in general failing to make big plays. It was frustrating to watch—so frustrating that I temporarily lost control. With third down and about seven, deep in their own territory, Jackie Sherrill called a running play. I screamed “Throw the ball!”, then complained to the man next to me about “chickenshit coaches”. I meant it. You may get in trouble by throwing the ball, but when you’re behind and it’s third and long, you’ve got to take chances. I hate methodical, infantrylike football, which is why I’ve long disliked Bo Schembechler [1929-2006] and the Michigan Wolverines. Passing is the name of the game, as far as I’m concerned. Anyway, though it was close at halftime (13-10, as I recall), Alabama pulled away in the second half, winning the game, 30-10. I left the stadium with three minutes to go and the Crimson Tide driving for yet another touchdown. I heard the announcement that they scored while walking to the bus. Texas A & M finished the season 7-5 (6-1 in the Southwest Conference). The Aggies won only one important game all season: against archrival Texas. They lost big games to Nebraska (in the Kickoff Classic), Louisiana State, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and Alabama.