From: retrac@vesuvius.cs.rice.edu (John Carter)
Subject: Re: Aggie Riot
Organization: Rice University, Houston
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 05:33:26 GMT

Hmph.  A completely sarcastic slap to A&M nets no responses.  I'll have to
switch tactics and actually say one or two nice things this time.  Good
thing I'm leaving Rice soon, they've been known to tar and feather folks for
lesser sins than saying nice things about A&M.

In article <1992Sep28.215053.2978@awdprime.austin.ibm.com> marc@yogi.austin.ibm.com (Marc J. Stephenson) writes:

>Hey, it's not THAT ancient!  I was there!  (Then again, I'm over 30 and I
>was a Boy Scout in uniform...ok, it is ancient...anyway...here it goes again).
>
>Anyway, the MOB (Marching Owl Band) did a salute to A&M that day for their
>halftime performance.

As Stanford band followers could also attest about their band, beware when
the MOB does a "salute" to anything.  You can be guaranteed that the salutee
will be zinged many times.

> 1) MOB forms a block 'T' reminiscent of the A&M band's 'T' formation, but
>    plays "March of the Toy Soldiers" and goose-steps (straight-leg marching
>    ala Nazi Germany or Russia).  They then fractured the 'T' somehow.
>
>    (TAMU's band is made up of members of the Corps of Cadets, A&M's large
>    and visible ROTC organization.  The band performs strictly military
>    maneuvers, at least until they release the band to leave the field.
>    They often form a block 'T' and march, then countermarch down the field.)

TAMU's band has even developed a sense of humor.  The last time I went to a
Rice-A&M game, the Aggie band opened the show by milling around on the
sidelines.  Then, in response to a drill sergeant's command, they ran around
the field screaming like maniacs for about 15 seconds until they found their
appropriate starting positions.  That is exactly how the MOB "marches" on to
the field, and was presumably meant as a tribute.  UT's band has done this
in the past (or run off the field screaming).  I thought it was a class
move, and got the Rice crowd on the side of the Aggie band instead of poised
to boo and heckle.

When it comes to precision, military-style marching bands, I've never seen
one better than, or even one very close to, A&M's.  Anybody who tries
compare them with the MOB (a parody of a marching band) or UT's band (a
"show" band) is comparing apples and oranges.  I just wish they'd learn more
than one song, even though I do enjoy the theme to "Yogi Bear", their school
song.  It *really does* sound like the Yogi theme: "Who's the bear..." -- I
crack up every time I hear it.

There was a pair of (in)famous pranks pulled by Rice students against the
Aggie band in ancient times.  The Aggie band used to use whistles to
coordinate the precise timing of their march (if you've ever seen their
flying T, you know that even being off by a step is disastrous, it's pretty
impressive).  Anyway, some industrious Rice students figured this out and
came to the game loaded for bear, er... Aggie, with whistles.  Midway
through their band's performance, the Rice student section began blowing
whistles, and enough band members blew their moves to result in a completely
chaotic mess in the middle of the field.  Heh heh - success.  Reacting to
this vulnerability like a good military organization, they switched to using
markers on the sidelines (those fold-up kind that you see at some high
school games) to mark the location of the moves.  Well, after a few years, a
couple of students managed to move the markers on one side of the field by
five yards, resulting in, well, you get the picture.  They still have the
markers, but now there are cadets standing next to each one to make sure
there are no more tricks.  I also think that they've switched to memorizing
their moves without the use of "cheats".

> The MOB did not make a return visit to A&M until around 1980 for safety
> reasons (apparently, they only make one road trip a year anyway).

Well, the MOB goes on at least one road trip a year, either to A&M or Texas.
They also go (all the way) to Houston when we play in the Dome.  Sometimes
they also go to "special" games, like the time we played at Notre Dame a few
years back.  We should've won, but the refs gave them 45 points or so :).

-- 
John Carter  -*-  Rice University Computer Systems Lab  -*-  retrac@rice.edu

Thesis hacking Owl, soon to be Ute.  Move over Salt Lake, here he comes!
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college