No prob. Hope it was interesting at least to some extent. Maybe if not "interesting," hopefully it simply added context that the vast majority of the "oddities" at least have root in the school's military ties.Thanks for the background info.
What about the arm linking swaying the whole stadium does before games? If you mentioned it I must have missed it.
To be honest, the sway you're referring to doesn't have a "direct linkage" to some military tradition or specific event, as the other traditions do. But it started in "Ol' Army days" and makes sense in context. The Aggie War Hymn was written 1918, and the part of the song is known as "Sawing Varsity's Horns Off". (Fun fact that even some Aggies don't even realize - while the words are original, the tune is a military ballad remake of a barbershop quartet song known as "Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby." But I digress...)
At that point in the Aggie War Hymn, you put your arms on each others shoulders and sway side to side during that part singing "saw varsity's horns off" ("varsity" is an old school reference to a football team, and this context, the Longhorn's team). To be honest, I never connected this until your question prompted me to do some internet research, but the motion is said to mimic a saw.
So while I cannot say the action is something specifically a school with a military academy background would come up with, other than perhaps the camaraderie it shows, it definitely isn't just something "random."
The War Hymn
Parts of the War Hymn medley have connections to Roosevelt's Rough Riders and a 1752 French opera
www.aggienetwork.com
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