2006-11-04 02:07:00 · 9 answers · asked by JASONKIDDMADNRESSW/VINCECARTER 2 in Sports ➔ Football (American)
The 12th Man tradition was born in 1922 at the Dixie Classic in Dallas, Texas, when the coach, Dana X. Bible asked student E. King Gill, to come out of the stands and suit up for an injury plagued Aggie team. He was ready to play but never sent into the game.
The 12th Man is the reason A&M students stand for each entire football game. When Aggie students stand during games, it is this spirit and loyalty they are remembering. They stand in readiness in case they are needed to go into the game like the original 12th Man, E. King Gill.
2006-11-04 03:44:30 · answer #1 · answered by rustylium 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, then the nation's top ranked team. As the hard fought game wore on, and the Aggies dug deeply into their limited reserves, Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a squad man who was not in uniform. He had been up in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill, and was a former football player who was only playing basketball. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game, which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me."
This gesture was more than enough for the Aggie Team. Although Gill did not play in the game, he had accepted the call to help his team. He came to be thought of as the Twelfth Man because he stood ready for duty in the event that the eleven men on the gridiron needed assistance. That spirit of readiness for service, desire to support, and enthusiasm helped kindle a flame of devotion among the entire student body; a spirit that has grown vigorously throughout the years. The entire student body at A&M is the Twelfth Man, and they stand during the entire game to show their support. The 12th Man is always in the stands waiting to be called upon if they are needed.
This tradition took on a new look in the 1980's when Coach Jackie Sherrill started the 12th Man Kick-Off Team composed of regular students through open tryouts. This 12th Man team performed very well and held opponents to one of the lowest yards per return averages in the league. Later, Head Coach R.C. Slocum changed the team to allow only one representative of the 12th Man on the kick off team. The 12th Man tradition also took musical form. The 12th Man sings this song after each game in which the Aggies are outscored.
2006-11-04 14:50:52 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are 11 men on the field, the 12th man is the fans. The home crowd gets loud and makes it hard on the opponents so they can't hear each other. As to it being exciting I didn't really know it was, well unless you are a part of it. If you are a fan in the stands of a team and you are the one making that noise for your home team and really in it yeah it is exciting to be there. One of those experiences though that you can't really explain.
2006-11-04 10:13:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 12th man is the crowd. The fans get so crazy, it makes it hard for the visiting team to call the plays.
2006-11-04 10:47:24 · answer #4 · answered by Jazzy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In a game in the 1920 's the coach @ A&M called a former football and current basketball player out of the stands to try to get him in the game in an attempt to make sure all players would get at least one play in before they graduated.(his name was E.Hill or something) He didn't get to play , but stood ready too the whole time....now the A&M fans stand the entire game " standing ready" themselves.In the last 20 years or so the nickname has spread.
2006-11-04 11:41:01 · answer #5 · answered by COlin K 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it is the crowd noise. the crowd's noise makes it hard for opposing offenses to hear the plays being called by the quarterback. it has been a tradition at that school for many years for the crowd to be rowdy and make it hard for other teams to play texas a&m, so we keep hearing about it today.
2006-11-04 11:17:03 · answer #6 · answered by Nate 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It refers to the fans and the volume of their cheering; a lot of NFL teams use the same analogy, most notably the Seattle Seahawks.
2006-11-04 10:20:03 · answer #7 · answered by ChrisO_01801 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is the fans and they may be the loudest fans in the NCAA. The reason for them is to distract the offense so they can not here the snap counts or audibles.
2006-11-04 10:09:26 · answer #8 · answered by Colin L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is the fans.
2006-11-04 13:04:04 · answer #9 · answered by smitty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋