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When people talk about the best fans in the nation, Texas A&M always seems to be included in the discussion. Whenever the best venues are discussed, Olsen Field, Reed Arena and Kyle Field always seem to make the cut. The University has poured money into the three athletic landmarks that you see on the College Station horizon. And, through the years, all three stadiums have seen their fair share of history.
Olsen Field, sitting at the corner of George Bush Drive and Wellborn Road, has been a fixture in Aggieland since 1978. The stadium was built next to the train tracks and with Kyle Field hovering in the background. It was named after Pat Olsen, Class of 1923. The stadium's capacity is 7,053 with an attendance record of 8,847 against Texas in 2003. Past and present students have all been a part of what students call the Olsen Magic.
"When John Byington hit the second of back-to-back home runs in the last inning against Texas at Olsen in 1989, Olsen Magic was maybe not born, but it was as magical as it could get," said Phillip Robertson, Class of 1991. "To do that at home versus the sips, twice, absolutely gutting them emotionally, was one of the most wonderful days of my life. These weren't lollipops into the bleachers; these were fat man and little boy nuclear shots into the depths of College Station. Ball hits bat twice, ball shoots out, and the place looks like a fire ant bed with Ags hugging, shouting, leaping up and down in the stands."
Sports Illustrated, in 2004, called Olsen the best college baseball venue in the country. The student section at Olsen has implemented new traditions differing from the ones at any other Aggie sport. The Raggies, as they are called because of their tendency to rag on the opponents, make life incredibly tough for visiting squads.
"Kyle Colligan's walk-off home run in 2008 in the bottom of the 10th against fourth-ranked Missouri in the battle of top five teams," said junior nuclear engineering major Zachary Papas. "It was the loudest and most electric I've ever heard Olsen."
Coinciding with Aggie basketball's rise to prominence, Reed Arena, sitting across the railroad tracks, has become, in recent years, one of the toughest places to play for opponents.
Reed was built in the fall of 1998 and named after Mr. and Mrs. Chester J. Reed, Class of 1947. As Aggie Men's basketball has gone on a five-year run of unparalleled success, the Reed Rowdies have brought the tradition of the Twelfth Man across the street.
"Following an Alexis Wangmene elbow to DeAndre Jordan late in the 2008 upset of 10th-ranked t.u., the crowd pleaded with the official to kick him off the bench where he was sitting," said Papas. "When the official complied, the stadium erupted in a roar of which I have never heard."
The arena can seat up to 12,989 with the largest crowd to date being 14,584, taking place in 2008 against Oklahoma State as Acie Law IV's jersey was hung in the rafters.
Reed Arena has been the scene of many buzzer beaters, multiple court rushings and upsets. Arguably the most famous moment for Aggie basketball fans is what is simply known as The Shot. In 2006, Law's buzzer beater downed No. 7 Texas and sent the Aggies to the dance.
"As I was watching the game with my t-sip father, the hostility was building the further into the game we got," said junior industrial distribution major Steve Brock. "When the shot went up and in, I let out a euphoric scream and jumped on the couch to give my dad an earful."
Kyle Field is arguably the most well-known landmark in College Station. Erected in 1927 in honor of Edwin Jackson Kyle, Class of 1899, Kyle sits on Wellborn Rd. and has been home to many students' most memorable times in College Station.
"In 1958, Jim Swink, the All-American from TCU, gets the ball four times down at the goal line," recalls Pat Robertson, Class of 1958. "And all four times, the Ags stuff him. Froggies to this day think he got in. I disagree. Nonetheless, the game featured a tornado at the airport and rain that was horizontal. Not just rain, but a torrent that defied meteorological possibilities. But Old Army played on, and the Twelfth Man willed the Ags to a huge win over Swink and the Frogs."
Kyle Field is the location where the Twelfth Man, Yell Leaders and many other A&M traditions were born. It's a place that saw hall of fame coaches Jackie Sherrill, R.C. Slocum and Paul 'Bear' Bryant roaming the sidelines. There the Aggies have gone 251-122-12 and in the 90s, saw a team go 55-4-1 at home. At one point from 1990-1995, A&M saw 31 straight home victories.
"In 1989, Larry Horton ran back the opening kickoff of the season against seventh-ranked LSU," said Damon Smith, Class of 1991. "The place was going bonkers. Bananas. We proceeded to beat the pulp out of the Tigers that night. It was great. We just didn't expect to lose when we walked into Kyle those days."
Kyle Field was expanded in 1999 with the Bernard C. Richardson Zone to move the capacity up to 82,600. The largest crowd was in 2007 against Texas when 88,253 packed Kyle.
Kyle has been host many a time to the national spotlight. The Red, White and Blue Out that took place days after 9/11, defeating top-ranked Oklahoma in 2002 behind Reggie McNeal, an emotional victory in beating Texas just days after the bonfire collapse are all some of the more famous examples. Midnight Yell, the Fighting Texas Aggie Band and the Block T are all images that have become just as well known due to their association with Kyle Field.
"My favorite memory is, without a doubt, the 1989 Cougar High [Houston] game," said Robertson. "Houston had a future Heisman winner in Andre Ware at the game. R.C. [Slocum] came to the yell practice the night before and told Kyle Field and the Twelfth Man that they could win the game for us, to be louder than you have ever been. Houston could not get a play off and Ware spent most of his time on his back. R.C. put in one lineman and the rest were linebackers and defensive backs and blitzed him from everywhere. None of us could talk after the game. To a man, we felt like we won that game. That was the loudest I have heard Kyle to date."
Aggie fans have been making memories at these sports venues for decades. For a University where memories and traditions are so important, it's easy to see how sports games inspire such emotional reactions.
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