Texas A&M hasn’t exacty had a great football season to speak of. Mike Sherman’s first year in the Big 12 could prove to be his toughest. Three teams from South division make up the top 5 in the COUNTRY, and TAMU will play all three in just over a month. The Aggies are progessing every game, but they are the equivalent of “the worst house in a great neighborhood”, so it’s hard to get excited when everyone around them is doing so much better.

Julie’s friends from college have been tailgating together, along with her parents and their RV, since about 2000. After graduation, they have managed to organize themselves for at least one game a year to get back together in the name of Aggie football and good old-fashioned tailgating — If you cook it, they will come.

Nowadays, after all the weddings have passed, they have all settled down (more or less) and started their own families. The scene has changed significantly in a just a few short years. There are just as many diaper bags as there are coolers now, and half the entertainment is the kids running around (or getting passed around). The old classic college stories have been replaced by diaper changing horror stories and discussions about how much daycare costs.

I’ll take this chance to list the attendees and their respective half-pints:
Scott and Summer Keith: Kaitlin (14 mos)
Sapna Pringle: Maya (10 mos), Honorary Rookie
Josh and Lindy Hernandez: Mariana (5 mos), Honorary Rookie
Jim and Sarah Pike: Kate (1 month), Honorary Rookie

The weekend was great and everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather in College Station, but it did end on a sad note. Shiloh, Julie’s Golden Retriever from college and tailgating veteran, has been diagnosed with Lymphoma (cancer in the lymph nodes), and this was likely her last trip to College Station. The news certainly deserves it’s own post and more details, but it put a perspective on the weekend that with every new life, there are those that have come before us that have come to an end.

-RB