A typical camping trip lets you surround yourself with nature. You get to watch the stars, disconnect from a busy urban life, and cozy up next to a fire as you wait out the night. But, if you are like me and many other Aggies this past weekend, your camping trip was on the sidewalk outside of Kyle Field.
I’ve never been fully invested in the Texas A&M University experience, especially when it comes to football. I have been to a couple of games, but for my senior year, I finally purchased a sports pass and am prepared to take on everything the season has to offer. Part of that experience, to my dismay, is camping outside for ticket pull.
The upcoming Alabama v. Texas A&M game is one of the most anticipated of the season. With the Aggies defeating Bama the last time they were at Kyle Field, I was prepared for this ticket pull to be brutal. My roommate and I knew we needed to get to the line as soon as possible, but since our sisters were visiting for the game, we knew it was crucial to camp out at our earliest convenience. So, we gathered a group, made an Excel sheet to sign up for camping shifts, and began our preparations.
We spent the days leading up to it gathering supplies. We perused the Target aisles and picked out a tent and made sure to stock up on fans to beat the inevitable Texas heat. With all of our supplies collected we set up our space on Thursday, September 28 for ticket pull on the morning of Monday, October 2.
The beginning of the campout experience started off slow. Each person sat in a chair, did a little homework, and tried to stay cool as the temperature rose throughout the day. As the days went on, we got to know everyone in line with us. We were luckily next to a larger campsite that let us sit under their canopy and watch the Aggies BTHO Arkansas on their TV. The evenings, however, felt like an endless social event.
I was lucky enough to sleep outside only one night, the Sunday before ticket pull. The plan was to get some rest and then get up at 4:00 a.m. to pack up our tent to make sure no one cut in front of us. That plan was instantly thrown out the window when multiple groups started blasting music at one o’clock in the morning. Everyone was outside socializing, playing games, and singing the TAMU War Hymn for what felt like at least, once every hour. The sleep deprivation was rough but was quickly outweighed by the joy I felt witnessing a community form slowly throughout the weekend one tent at a time.
As eight in the morning finally rolled around, everyone’s efforts finally paid off. My group was able to get the first deck and an experience we can look back on for years to come. Would I ever do this again? No. But I am glad I got to participate in another unique part of TAMU’s culture.
Now it’s time to BTHO Bama!