Thousands Turn Out To Hex The Aggies (Slideshow)

By alcalde in Blog on November 23, 2010 at 9:03 am | 1 Comment

You would have never guessed from the size of the crowd on the Main Mall last night that this has been a down year for the Texas Longhorn football team.

About 2,000 students and local fans came early, were loud, and lit red candles Monday night at the 25th annual Hex Rally.

The tradition, first started in 1941 and revived in the late ’80s, involves burning red candles and singing “The Eyes of Texas“ three times to put a hex on our in-state rivals from College Station.

Texas holds a commanding lead over A&M in the series all-time.

“You make sure you put a strong hex on those Aggies about some turnovers,” Head Coach Mack Brown told fans.

Fan-favorite Jeff “Mad Dog” Madden, the team’s strength coach, led the crowd in a series of cheers to infuse the players and the fans with that die-hard Texas pride that’s been harder to come by of late.

The Longhorn Band, Texas Cheer and Pom, and several student groups performed during the rally, which is organized every year by the Texas Exes Student Chapter.

“It went wonderfully,” said Taylor Nyberg, Texas Exes staff liaison to the Student Chapter. “We had a huge crowd, and it showed that students really do care about supporting the team.”

The Horns take on the 7-3 Aggies Thursday at 7 p.m. at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

If Texas wins, the team becomes bowl-eligible and gets a shot at finishing the season with a winning record.