5 best Texas vs. Texas A&M football games of the Big 12 era
By Jeff Shull
1. November 26, 1999
The Aggies got back in the win column against their hated rival a year after winning the Big 12 Championship. This was a matchup between two ranked opponents with the lower seeded Ags taking a huge victory from the Longhorns.
But this game was more about what happened on the field. The Aggie Bonfire was a tradition known by most around the country. On November 18, 1999, at approximately 2:42 am, the bonfire collapsed, killing 12 Aggies and injuring several others.
That number 12 means a lot to Aggies, for many reasons, and you can see how emotional the game was after the tragedy that struck those students and their families.
The game was almost 20 years ago and I still get misty-eyed watching Brian Gamble fall to the ground with tears in his eyes and point to the sky after recovering the game-sealing fumble, a play that has been in the “There’s a Spirit” video every year.
This was one year to put aside the differences and the hatred. The Texas band signifies this when they raise two Aggie flags and two Longhorn flags, then lower the Longhorn flags to show their Texas unity.
Texas A&M canceled the Bonfire and officially has not brought it back, though students did start an unofficial Bonfire in the years after the collapse.
The win was healing for a university crushed by tragedy. This game will forever go down as one of the most memorable in Aggie history.
Next: Ranking every Aggie QB in the NFL
Jeff Shull is the Site Expert for the Gig Em Gazette on FanSided. Follow him on Twitter, and be sure to follow the Gig Em Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.