-FA- ManiacalClown
November 17th, 2004, 03:46 PM
It was Judgment Day in Aggieland
And tenseness filled the air;
All knew there was a trip at hand,
But not a soul knew where.
Assembled on the drill field
Was the world-renowned Twelfth Man,
The entire fighting Aggie Team
And the famous Aggie Band.
And out in front with Royal Guard
The reviewing party stood;
St. Peter and his angel staff
Were choosing bad from good.
First he surveyed the Aggie Team
And in Terms of an angel swore,
“By Jove, I do believe I’ve seen
This gallant group before.
“I’ve seen them play since way back when
And they’ve always had the grit;
I’ve seem ’em lose and I’ve seen ’em win
But I’ve never seen ’em quit.
“No need for us to tarry here
Deciding upon their fates;
’Tis plain as the halo on my head
That they’ve opened Heaven’s gates.”
And when the Twelfth Man heard this
They let out a mighty yell,
That echoed clear to Heaven
And shook the gates of Hell.
“And what group is this upon the side,”
St. Peter asked his aide,
“That swelled as if to burst with pride
When we our judgment made?”
“Why sir, that’s the Cadet Corps,
That’s known both far and wide,
For backing up their fighting team
Whether they won or lost or tied.”
“Well then,” said St. Peter,
“It’s very plain to me
That within the realms of Heaven
They should spend eternity.
“And have the Texas Aggie Band
At once commence to play
For their fates too, we must decide
Upon this crucial day.”
And the drum major so hearing
Slowly raised his hand
And said, “Boys let’s play ‘The Spirit’
For the last time in Aggieland.”
And the band poured forth the Anthem
In notes both bright and clear
And ten thousand Aggie voices
Sung the song they hold so dear.
And when the band had finished,
St. Peter wiped his eyes
And said, “It’s not so hard to see
They’re meant for Paradise.”
And the colonel of the Cadet Corps said
As he stiffly took his stand
“It’s just another Corps Trip, boys.
We’ll march in behind the band.”
It was this poem that was read every year before the lighting of Aggie Bonfire. It is this poem that has not been read before such a bonfire for 6 long years.
At 2:42 am on November 18, 1999, outward stress of the bottom stack of the then to be '99 Bonfire exceeded the inward forces of the mechanisms meant to hold it together. Logs began to flower out towards the southeast, causing the second stack to shift laterally in the same direction. And then, seemingly instantly, the entire bonfire had collapsed, leaving 12 dead and 27 injured. What had been the single most revered traditon of them all had suddenly turned to tragedy.
And now here we find ourselves, 5 years later. Upon campus, there is still no bonfire, as the administration has chosen to wait at least until the settlement of outstanding litigation. Meanwhile, an off-campus, completely student-organized bonfire will soon burn for the third year running. The campus remains divided. Are we simply carrying on our most beloved tragedy as the families of the dead and assumingly the dead themselves would want us to do? Are we doing so in an even more dangerous environment now that there is no administrative support and input? Should we forego any and all semblance of bonfire until the University itself is ready to once again hold it on its campus?
One thing is clear. Five years ago, a campus came together in grief, and a rivalry between schools became, if only for a few weeks, a rivalry no more, but a football game between saddened friends. Texas A&M won that game 20-16. They haven't won since. Related? Doubtful. Football is football, and sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. But lives you can only lose once, and it's something touching for two schools so embroiled in competition to remember that despite our differences, we're one and the same.
And so at this point, I urge you to remember the injured:
Nate Atkinson
Dominic Braus
Jennifer Calaway
John Comstock
William "Bill" Davis
Clayton Frady
Leslie Graham
Lanny Joe Hayes
Will Harlan
Britt Henley
Caleb Hill
Chad Hutchinson
Jody Jacobs
Paul "Alex" Jones
Brandon Allen Jozwiak
John Kramer
William Lyckman
Amy McLeod
Mandy Nakai
Matthew Robbins
Holly Rotenberry
Lauren Scanlan
Milton "Chip" Thiel
Bruce Unger
J.J. Washam
Jeremy Woorley
Derrek Woodley
And the dead:
Miranda Denise Adams
Christopher D. Breen
Michael Stephen Ebanks
Jeremy Richard Frampton
Jamie Lynn Hand
Christopher Lee Heard
Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr.
Lucas John Kimmel
Bryan A. McClain
Chad A. Powell
Jerry Don Self
Nathan Scott West
All had their lives irrevocably changed while trying to do their part to uphold their school's greatest tradition.
Bonfire may have been a symbollic gesture towards our desire to defeat the University of Texas at football, but when it comes down to it, it was much more. It was the culmination of our relationship as Aggies, for we are all Aggies here in College Station, no matter our outward differences, and Bonfire's construction knew no ethnicity or religion or political preference or sexual orientation. It knew only Aggies.
The same can be applied to the world as a whole, and UT recognized this. Rivalries make for better sports. Togetherness and respect of your peers make for a better world.
I can only hope that, as Student Bonfire burns this weekend, those who had any part of its construction and in attendence remember that it means a lot more than just their "burning desire to beat t.u." It's the end result of the common bonds we as Aggies share and embrace.
Forget that, and 12 people died for a meaningless fire that celebrates a meaningless football game.
And tenseness filled the air;
All knew there was a trip at hand,
But not a soul knew where.
Assembled on the drill field
Was the world-renowned Twelfth Man,
The entire fighting Aggie Team
And the famous Aggie Band.
And out in front with Royal Guard
The reviewing party stood;
St. Peter and his angel staff
Were choosing bad from good.
First he surveyed the Aggie Team
And in Terms of an angel swore,
“By Jove, I do believe I’ve seen
This gallant group before.
“I’ve seen them play since way back when
And they’ve always had the grit;
I’ve seem ’em lose and I’ve seen ’em win
But I’ve never seen ’em quit.
“No need for us to tarry here
Deciding upon their fates;
’Tis plain as the halo on my head
That they’ve opened Heaven’s gates.”
And when the Twelfth Man heard this
They let out a mighty yell,
That echoed clear to Heaven
And shook the gates of Hell.
“And what group is this upon the side,”
St. Peter asked his aide,
“That swelled as if to burst with pride
When we our judgment made?”
“Why sir, that’s the Cadet Corps,
That’s known both far and wide,
For backing up their fighting team
Whether they won or lost or tied.”
“Well then,” said St. Peter,
“It’s very plain to me
That within the realms of Heaven
They should spend eternity.
“And have the Texas Aggie Band
At once commence to play
For their fates too, we must decide
Upon this crucial day.”
And the drum major so hearing
Slowly raised his hand
And said, “Boys let’s play ‘The Spirit’
For the last time in Aggieland.”
And the band poured forth the Anthem
In notes both bright and clear
And ten thousand Aggie voices
Sung the song they hold so dear.
And when the band had finished,
St. Peter wiped his eyes
And said, “It’s not so hard to see
They’re meant for Paradise.”
And the colonel of the Cadet Corps said
As he stiffly took his stand
“It’s just another Corps Trip, boys.
We’ll march in behind the band.”
It was this poem that was read every year before the lighting of Aggie Bonfire. It is this poem that has not been read before such a bonfire for 6 long years.
At 2:42 am on November 18, 1999, outward stress of the bottom stack of the then to be '99 Bonfire exceeded the inward forces of the mechanisms meant to hold it together. Logs began to flower out towards the southeast, causing the second stack to shift laterally in the same direction. And then, seemingly instantly, the entire bonfire had collapsed, leaving 12 dead and 27 injured. What had been the single most revered traditon of them all had suddenly turned to tragedy.
And now here we find ourselves, 5 years later. Upon campus, there is still no bonfire, as the administration has chosen to wait at least until the settlement of outstanding litigation. Meanwhile, an off-campus, completely student-organized bonfire will soon burn for the third year running. The campus remains divided. Are we simply carrying on our most beloved tragedy as the families of the dead and assumingly the dead themselves would want us to do? Are we doing so in an even more dangerous environment now that there is no administrative support and input? Should we forego any and all semblance of bonfire until the University itself is ready to once again hold it on its campus?
One thing is clear. Five years ago, a campus came together in grief, and a rivalry between schools became, if only for a few weeks, a rivalry no more, but a football game between saddened friends. Texas A&M won that game 20-16. They haven't won since. Related? Doubtful. Football is football, and sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. But lives you can only lose once, and it's something touching for two schools so embroiled in competition to remember that despite our differences, we're one and the same.
And so at this point, I urge you to remember the injured:
Nate Atkinson
Dominic Braus
Jennifer Calaway
John Comstock
William "Bill" Davis
Clayton Frady
Leslie Graham
Lanny Joe Hayes
Will Harlan
Britt Henley
Caleb Hill
Chad Hutchinson
Jody Jacobs
Paul "Alex" Jones
Brandon Allen Jozwiak
John Kramer
William Lyckman
Amy McLeod
Mandy Nakai
Matthew Robbins
Holly Rotenberry
Lauren Scanlan
Milton "Chip" Thiel
Bruce Unger
J.J. Washam
Jeremy Woorley
Derrek Woodley
And the dead:
Miranda Denise Adams
Christopher D. Breen
Michael Stephen Ebanks
Jeremy Richard Frampton
Jamie Lynn Hand
Christopher Lee Heard
Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr.
Lucas John Kimmel
Bryan A. McClain
Chad A. Powell
Jerry Don Self
Nathan Scott West
All had their lives irrevocably changed while trying to do their part to uphold their school's greatest tradition.
Bonfire may have been a symbollic gesture towards our desire to defeat the University of Texas at football, but when it comes down to it, it was much more. It was the culmination of our relationship as Aggies, for we are all Aggies here in College Station, no matter our outward differences, and Bonfire's construction knew no ethnicity or religion or political preference or sexual orientation. It knew only Aggies.
The same can be applied to the world as a whole, and UT recognized this. Rivalries make for better sports. Togetherness and respect of your peers make for a better world.
I can only hope that, as Student Bonfire burns this weekend, those who had any part of its construction and in attendence remember that it means a lot more than just their "burning desire to beat t.u." It's the end result of the common bonds we as Aggies share and embrace.
Forget that, and 12 people died for a meaningless fire that celebrates a meaningless football game.