Has the whole world gone mad!?
I don’t know if anyone reading this has been keeping up with the whole 12th Man debaucle, but in case you haven’t, here’s the run-down:
In the 1920’s, during an Aggie football game, a series of injuries forced the coach to call a student out of the stands to suit up. Ever since that day, Aggie students have stood through every game, ready to play, yell, or do whatever to help their team out. Thus, the 12th Man was born.
Well, it seems that some time in the ’80s the Seattle Seahawks fans began to think of themselves as the 12th man, due to their vigor at the games. The excitment died down while the Seahawks weren’t doing so well, but, as the team prepares for the Super Bowl, the 12th man moniker has come back.
Similar situations have occured in the past with the Bears and the Bills, and both teams stopped using the phrase for one reason. As it turns out, Texas A&M happens to have trademarked the 12th Man. The universtiy has sent letters to the Seahawks in 2004 and 2005 requesting that the stop using that phrase. There has been no response. Due to the silence, Texas A&M University has filed a restraining order against the team using the trademarked moniker.
All of that is just fact. However, the sports media seems to think that the Seahawks have the right to steal what has been widely voted the greatest tradition in all of college football. They’re even lying to help Seattle out. Jim Rome, host of “Rome is Burning” on ESPN, actually said “until I actually see Seattle fans having sex in the stands like Aggie fans do, I’m going to have to give Seattle the benefit of the doubt.”
WHAT THE HELL? How is he allowed to accuse Aggie fans of having sex in the stands and still be called credible. The last time I checked the matter was as simple as this: the 12th Man is trademarked, so they can’t use it.