The Pedestrian SEC Fan's Guide to Aggieland

In five short days, the Fighting Texas Aggies will be starting our first season playing in the SEC.  I believe that unless you talk to an Aggie not living in reality, that our first season in the league will be a little humbling, but I'm confident that we'll earn your respect, both on the football field and off of it.  9 days after our initial game, our first guest comes in... and given that 14 days is not a lot of time to prepare yourself to enter our promised land, I thought I'd give you a little guide into Aggieland so that you know us as we are getting to know you.  Also, these are some things you can keep in mind so that you enjoy (or at least not embarrass yourself :-) ) when you come to College Station.

• If you ask us about our mascots and think it's weird that we call ourselves Aggies, have yells that refer to us as "Farmers" and "Army," and also have the dog (Reveille's her name)... you may think that's weird... but remember that you can't figure out the whole Auburn Tiger/War Eagle thing, Tennessee has a dog and are the Volunteers, and this league has three Tigers and two Bulldogs schools.  So, we're just joining you in the confusion :-)
• Come early to the game and watch the Corps and the Aggie Band march in.  It's the coolest pre-game thing in this league (and yes, much cooler than the War Eagle dropping into the building, which is pretty cool)
• When you walk into and around the MSC (Memorial Student Center), please enjoy this great building but please remember it is a memorial to soldiers that have died in foreign wars.  All we ask is that you don't step on the grass by the MSC and that you take your hat off when you walk in.  It's a sign of respect and will keep you from having an unpleasant confrontation from a member of the Corps that takes this honoring our fallen heroes thing pretty seriously :-).  On that note, if you are wearing your hat in the MSC and hear someone yell "UNCOVER" to you, he's probably talking to you and he's saying "Take your (insert choice word) hat off now!"
• We've never had female cheerleaders, and if most of us former students had our way, never will. Get over it.
• It's true.  We are the only SEC college town without a Waffle House.  I'm sure that little detail will be corrected soon because we like our greasy 2am breakfast as much as the next school.  Until that happens, you should check out the following places:
• The Dixie Chicken (known simply as "The Chicken" around Aggieland).  This place is as hole in the wall as you can get and serves more Shiner per square foot than anyplace else). I highly recommend getting the Tiauana Fries with some jalapenos.  Mmmmmmm
• Freebirds.  The original place is on Northgate and serves the best burritos and quesadillas that God allowed man to make.  Be sure to sign the wall at Northgate (the others are a little "cleaner")
• Wings and More.  Great wing place that is not wimpy.
• If you're in town later at night, definitely come two-steppin at the Texas Hall of Fame or any of our other dance halls.  We don't line dance in Texas, and if you come out after the game, we'll show you why. 
• Students stand throughout the entire game, except when your band is playing.  We do whoop when the band is on the field and you will hear the whole building echo "Now forming on the north end of Kyle Field... the nationally famous... Fighting Texas Aggie Band!" when the band is announced.  Our band is all that, and we know it.
• If you think the band march in is cool, just wait till you see 86,000+ people sway back and forth when we sing the War Hymn.
• You may have some random person say "Howdy!" to you as you walk around campus.  Just smile and say howdy back.  It's how we roll in Aggieland.
• We are pretty friendly to our guests... if you're expecting us to be jerks like some of those schools in places that we all know about (ahem, Baton Rouge :-) ), then you'll be sorely disapointed.  We will be nice to you, say howdy, give you directions around campus, and want to beat the hell outta your team :-).  We are still going to be nice to you.
• If you want to know how the student body is able to coordinate all of those yells, it'd take more time than I have on this blog to tell you.  Basically, we could be (and have been) described as a "cult" and in some ways you can't really argue with that.  But before you judge, walk into any SEC town on gameday and tell me that you're school is not :-).

In closing, I'm sure I forgot a few things, but I wanted to give you the basics.  Enjoy your visit to Aggieland watching your team get beat.  We want to make the smackdown as enjoyable for you as possible :-)