Home of the 12th Man
Written: Sep 30 '06
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Pros: Awesome atmosphere, traditions
Cons: Heat, expense
The Bottom Line: One of the best stadiums in college football. Awesome game day experience
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| DirtyDan's Full Review: Kyle Field |
I love college football. I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t consider the football prospects when I was deciding where to go to grad school albeit it was a small factor. Of the places I’ve seen a college football game Kyle Field is my favorite and consistently considered one of the best places to watch a game in country. The traditions at Texas A&M run deep and make Saturday’s in the fall special. If you plan to see a game at A&M make sure you take it all in and enjoy yourself.
Kyle Field has a capacity 82,600+ and is the biggest football stadium in Texas. It’s a triple deck stadium on three sides, the east and west sides and the north end zone. The north end zone, called “The Zone” is the newest part of the stadium and has several luxury boxes and some other fancy stuff I’ve never gotten to see.
The tradition at Texas A&M is what really makes coming to Kyle Field special. Possibly the most important tradition that makes Kyle Field is the 12th Man. The 12th man was started way back in 1922, when reserve E. King Gill was called down from the stands and stood ready to play for A&M at the Dixie Classic. Since, the entire student body stands for their team. Not only do they stand but there are hordes of them all wearing maroon and really LOUD! Kyle Field has the largest allotment of student tickets of any school in the country, all three levels on the east side of the stadium are for the students and they get really loud when the Aggies are on defense. Most of the time opposing teams have to go a silent snap count when playing at Kyle Field. In addition, A&M has the Yell Leaders (not cheerleaders) leading the 12th Man in yells with precision. The only time the student body sits is at halftime for the opposing team’s band. Yes, they stand for their own Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, and for good reason, the band is a military style marching band and regularly does logic defying formations on the field while. As the bumper sticker says, “Aggies always win halftime.” At midnight the night before the game Aggie fans (and a lot of times the visiting teams fans just to see) come to Kyle Field for Midnight Yell, this is where the 12th Man gets their lungs warmed for the next day. In addition, after yell practice, the lights go out in the stadium so you can kiss your date. If you don’t have a date, bring a lighter and you may find one. It is also encouraged to kiss your date every time the Aggies score.
Needless to say, the actual game experience is pretty intense. The noise is pretty awesome. I’ve sat it several places in the student section where you get to pull your tickets based upon class (seniors first) and the sooner you pull your tickets the better seats you get. Generally I found the best sight lines on the student side were in the 2nd deck. This year my wife and I sit in the 3rd deck in the north end zone. These are the “cheap” season tickets and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the ability to see the game. There are a couple draw backs of these seats, one, it’s a little hard to see how many yard a play goes far when the action is on the far end of the field and two, when the action is down by the north end zone we have to lean forward a bit to see what’s going on. As implied by my quotations tickets aren’t cheap and they are more expensive for the marquee Big XII games but for the overall game day experience they’re worth it.
The contingent of tailgating fans is pretty active and are spread out all over campus. Parking on game day is pretty difficult, Kyle Field is on campus so there are lots of parking lots but they’re pretty pricey and you have to walk a lot to get to the stadium. If you just want to go to the game park at the mall in College Station and take the shuttle bus to campus. Concessions are pretty standard fare…overpriced and not that great but in the heat of the late summer/early fall in south Texas I’d pay quite a bit for a soda.
Overall, the game day atmosphere fueled by the Texas A&M traditions make this a must visit stadium for any true college football fan.
Recommended:
Yes
Parking Availability: Better Get There Early
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Epinions.com ID:
DirtyDan
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Location: Aggieland Texas
Reviews written: 93
Trusted by: 36 members
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