For all of the calumnies that have been lobbed towards Texas A&M fans over the past few years— you know the type, "weird," "cult," et cetera— it's hard to deny the passion that the maroon and white faithful, as a whole, possess. In fact, most of these intended insults are actually premised on the level of devotion that characterizes the Aggie fanbase.
It's tough to come up with a more dedicated fanbase in the entire country than that of the Aggies. They show up, rain or shine, good record or bad, to support the football program, year in and year out.
Here in the nadir of the offseason, deep in the valley before the ascent into the best time of year finally begins, college football fans are left with little to contemplate other than ranking everything about every program in the country. One such ranking that was issued recently was the most passionate fanbases in every conference— and the Aggies, thankfully, got the recognition they deserve.
Texas A&M deservedly ranked as most passionate fanbase in SEC
The Aggies' passion is all but an irreplaceable part of their brand by this point, and it is that passion that has earned them the top spot in the rankings of the most passionate fanbases in the conference. Given the kinds of programs that this puts A&M up against, it's hard to see how this doesn't put them as tops in the entire nation, as well.
A&M tops the list in the SEC, followed by LSU at number two and their rival Texas at number three. That's maybe a bit rich for the Longhorns, who are notoriously fair-weather but admittedly on a high at this point— South Carolina, for example, was still packing their stadium during the one-and-two-win seasons of the early 2000s— but they're at least loud on Twitter right now.
Auburn and Tennessee round out the top five before the aforementioned Gamecocks make an appearance at six. Georgia and Alabama are down at seven and eight, which may seem counterintuitive to some but makes sense upon further reflection.
One thing is for sure, though: the Aggies can never be beat when it comes to fan support. Despite how beaten-down some A&M fans appear at times, the support will always be there— and that's part of what's so special about being an Aggie.