And the season comes to an end...

This weekend as I traveled to Abilene, Texas to visit my aunt and uncle for Thanksgiving, I drove past a field of dead timber outside Ranger, Texas. This field had fell victim to a wildfire nearly a year ago. The trees and the ground still held scars from the fire. There were bark less trunks and dismembered tree limbs lying all about the field. However, life was trying to reappear. New green ivy had sprung up curling its way around trunks, and grass was beginning to grow anew throughout the enclosed field yielding new blossoms of flowers.

This image made me think of the Aggie Football team. Since I began attending Texas A&M University, the football team always seemed to be going through a developmental process. It started out in 2007, my freshman year, with the talents and leadership of Steven McGee as quarterback. The team battled its way through the Big 12, but did not kick up much dirt. Then, after McGee graduated in 2009, Jerrod Johnson took up the leadership position of quarterback and showcased his talent. The Aggies started to do a bit better, but were still not considered to be much of a threat. When Johnson injured his shoulder during his senior year, the back-up quarterback Ryan Tannehill had the opportunity to step on the stage and demonstrate his all-around football talent. Tannehill, under the advising and support of Johnson, lead the Texas A&M Aggies to the end of one of their best seasons in 2010. Extraordinary talents, like Tannehill and wide-receiver Ryan Swope, played football to the best of their abilities beating teams like Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. I remember watching the team that season and being floored by their outstanding performance. With the return of Defensive strength in The Wrecking Crew and the seemingly cohesive teamwork, Texas A&M found themselves elated by the football team’s performance.

This made expectations for the 2011 season high for the Texas A&M Football team. However, in 2011, Texas A&M found themselves with a football team that could only play half a game. Consistency was lacking and the fans and administrators called for a change. Due to the performance and the actions of other teams in the Big 12, A&M made the unpredictable move to the SEC. This was an action that many people felt was a risky move. Many people know the SEC as the “conference of champions”. Was A&M going to be able to compete within a conference like that? No one knew, but A&M was determined to show their worth and talent.

A new coach, Kevin Sumlin, was brought in to make the Aggies into an SEC football team. New kids from across the state of Texas and the nation were also brought in to form a new and improved team. After drilling and extensive training, leadership for the 2012 season was spread throughout the team to young players like Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans as well as veteran players like Ryan Swope and Uzoma Nwachukwu.

However this made little difference to the public’s perception. Since the Aggie’s first game was cancelled due to weather complications, their debut game was against Florida. The Fighting Texas Aggies put on a good show never giving up, but still lost to the Florida powerhouse. From that first loss against the Gators, A&M kept up the determination and spirit that symbolizes and embodies the Texas A&M campus everyday. They won every single game during the 2012 season except for a close loss to LSU.

The 2012 Texas A&M Football team has surpassed many expectations, beating formidable opponents like Mississippi State and Alabama. The team has been an inspiration for many Aggies and people nationwide. America has been introduced once more to the outstanding campus that is A&M, highlighted by its friendly hospitable atmosphere, traditions, and core values that have been present and followed since the late 1800s. Now all the Aggie football team has to do is win tomorrow’s final regular season game against Mizzou. The Aggies have faced this team many times before when they were in the Big 12 together. The previous encounters have not always ended victorious for the Aggies, but hopefully with the backing of the Aggie community and the desire to end the season on a note of victory will lead the Texas A&M Football team to yet another win for the season.

Now, you may be saying, “I read all this and now know what TAMU University is and what their football team has achieved, but how does this connect to the wildfire field in West Texas?” Well I have the answer for you right here. Everything in life goes through times of gains and times of loss. Throughout these times there is development and growth present for whatever is experiencing the change that life has brought it. Texas A&M is experiencing just that. Like the field that experienced and lived through a wildfire, A&M has experienced and lived through its own obstacles and growing experiences. After tragic times like the Bonfire or Muster days when we remember the Aggies that have passed on during the last year, the student body of Former Ags and current students comes together on game days to grow and unite under a common tie, supporting the football team as they battle opposing teams on the field. And now, as the football season comes to a close, the student body must cheer on the players as they set foot on Kyle Field one more time. It has been a phenomenal season of proving doubters wrong and climbing the charts into the single digit standings. Now let’s end the season on the winning side of the field. Thanks and Gig Em! Whoop!

The Best and Worst of Election Day 2012

Well that time has rolled around yet again, the time in which the American public must accept and live with the outcome of their vote in the Presidential election. It happens every four years, and yet people are always surprised when it roles around. I, however, see it as a kind of ritual for the American people, an opportunity that we, as Americans, must learn to appreciate. This past election, unfortunately, was more about negative campaigning and publicity than it was about making the United States a better place to live in. I believe this point of view communicated by many of the television stations swayed the vote and yielded the eventual election result. For that reason I will not write about what I think about the outcome of the election. Instead I will outline the ten best and ten worst aspects of last night's results presentations made by different news organizations so that people in 2016 can watch out for different schemes made on the public.

And let us begin with the worst:
10. Make your transitions to commercials a bit more fluid.
9. Make sure to interview an equal number of representatives from each party so as not to make your broadcast too one sided.
8. Diane Sawyer needs to be sure to divvy up airtime equally.
7. Give the experts you have for interviews ample time to answer the questions you pose.
6. Make sure Barbra Walters has her other View divas on TV with her. It is much more entertaining that way.
5. Do not do the "turtle neck". Sit up straight, extend your neck forward, and wear a dress that compliments your shoulder structure.
4. Do not forecast possible election results by adding hypothetical electoral votes to a candidate's actual electoral wins before the hypothetical electoral votes are actually valid.
3. When interviewing a government official, be sure to get his or her party affiliation correct.
2. Do not report on the fact that "the alcohol just arrived" when covering a candidate's election party. It's a family show, dude.
1. Do not ask a common voter on the street their opinion about the election results just to cut them off before they even have the chance to reply.

And the best parts:
10. The screams at the President's elections party were EPIC!
9. Local election results scrolling along at the bottom of the screen is always a fun way of keeping up with what's going on at home.
8. The interviews I saw of conservative republicans supporting the election of President Obama struck me with awe at how a nation can come together even when at odds.
7. The youth vote was a strong force in the Presidential election yet again. With almost 50% of the youth voters turning out, they let their voice be heard and be a deciding factor once more.
6. The bar graph results climbing up a building in Times Square may not have been the best way to see the numbers and the closeness of the election, but it was definitely fun to watch.
5. When the news organizations can show the emotions of the voters by displaying a napkin soaked with the joyful tears of liberal Americans, you know you have a good show on your hands.
4. Interviewing a holographic George Washington. One word, GENIUS!
3. The electoral map being displayed on the ice rink in Rockefeller Center was a stroke of brilliance. I now see ice painting is a possible job for me.
2. The ability for people to laugh at how we went through a tough, close race just to be back where we were four years ago put an ironic smile on my face.
1. Getting Patrick Stewart to narrate your Election Day 2012 Broadcast, brilliant and BRITISH :)

And now that all those have been uncovered and outlined, we as Americans can prepare for four more years of the Obama administration bringing with it a new and improved healthcare system, soldiers coming home from overseas, and altered tax plans. After these next four years we can then decide if the decision America made was right or not. Until then all I can say is, Obama 2012! Good night and good luck :)