'Round Super Bowl time, a group of UT rejects called Texas A&M University decided to sue the Seahawks for using the number 12.
(Back story: During a 1922 game, a bunch of A&M football players got injured, and some student suited up in case they needed him to play. They didn't, but this act of spectatorship so inspired the university that A&M students call themselves "The 12th Man" and the school's trademarked the phrase.)
The two sides eventually reached a settlement, permitting the Seahawks to basically keep doing what they'd been doing, and, as part of the settlement, the Hawks promised to fund literacy classes for A&M graduates.
The Aggies are at it again. Maybe they've destroyed their short-term memory to forget that "The 12th Man" has led them to six straight losses to UT. Now their target is Yahoo.com, which has a special section for the World Cup called "The 12th Man."
Note to Texas A&M: Soccer, while called football in many parts of the world, is not the same as American football.
For instance, in soccer no one can use their hands, unless they are the goalie. Whereas in American football anyone can use their hands, unless they are Jerramy Stevens.
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I know most people would rather just rant than listen to facts, but here they are. A&M has had "The Twelfth Man," as it applies to sports, trademarked for a long time. It's ours; get over it. Before I go on, there is some background information you have to know. The law is strange when it comes to trademark and copyright law. You can't pick and choose when to defend your trademarks and when not to. If you ever let a trademark violation go, you lose the trademark forever. That's it. It's gone. It will never again be yours. I didn't make the law and, frankly, I don't agree with it, but it's the law.
So A&M has the choice of suing everybody to tries to use "The Twelfth Man" without permission, or giving up the rights to it forever, and that wouldn't be fair to the over 300,000 current and former students, not to mention the countless Aggies in the indefinite future of the university. The choice is obvious. Trust me; most Aggies don't like the fact that we are suing people. We're conservatives, we hate lawsuits, and we especially hate crybabies, but the right thing to do in this situation is to defend our property. I only wish people would understand the difficult situation we are in.
What I still fail to understand is why people would fault us for defending a trademark. After all, would anyone object if Yahoo sued me for setting up a YahooSearch.com search engine? Of course not. This issue reeks of anti-South and anti-Texas prejudice.
I guess ignorance never ends. Protecting a copy right is ok in Seattle as long as it Starbucks. They are sueing a company in Texas that makes Star Boch. An ale, not coffee, and that is ok. But god forbid a Texas University from protecting its property. And before you go slandering the men and women that go to that university you might want to check you history. First the freedom you have to write ignorant comments was protected by officers from that same university. In WW2 more officers came out of Texas A & M than all the military acadamies combined. Douglas McArthur once stated he would take an officer from A&M over any other. You might also want to check the number of Aggies that have received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Aggies have great senses of humor (see aggie joke books) however, the subject needs to be humorous, not a sarcastic attempt at humor.
The last I saw the Aggies had more Rhoades Scholars than any university other than Harvard. I dont remember any Universities in the state of Washington ranking anywhere ahead of Texas A&M not to mention Texas, Rice, and a couple of other Texas universities.
Maybe you should take some of the literacy classes you so fondly spoke of and read you history and stats.
Wow, Herb Cohen, you are full of shit. A finely tuned bullshit detector and a quick Google search expose you for the fraud that you are.
You state "the Aggies had more Rhoades Scholars than any university other than Harvard." Well that's crap. I'll let you guess how many Rhodes Scholars A&M has. Ok, it's one.
"While A&M has sent several scholarship finalists through the application process in past years, Saturday marked the first time in at least 20 years and maybe longer that an A&M student was named.
"An idea of exactly when the last time an Aggie was sent to Oxford seems to have faded from institutional memory, Anthis said Sunday, explaining that none of the university staff who helped him through the process could remember."
So there, conclusive proof the A&M alumni and boosters are liars and assholes.
Damn, Aggies are some un-funny people! I guess that's what inbreeding will do to you.
Brian I noticed your total ability to lump all people based on one person. Reminds me of the KKK, they seem to do the same thing. Also noticed you had nothing to say about the Aggie Military history, and the fact that they have allowed you to continue your total ignorance and ability to insult large groups of people with the freedoms that this great country offers. Im sure that the population of the great northwest wouldnt like to be lumped together with you. I would rather be around anyone from texas a&m than a person like you. We have a belief in god, country, and family and the ability not to insult large groups of people based on interaction with one of that group. It helps to have a mind to be able to think and not be led around by our nose based on uneducated ignorance. Just hope you do one thing smart in life and stay were you are, because if you were to insult people in person the way you do on paper, you wouldnt last long in this part of the world.
Wow, where to start.
Brian - the facts you present are hardly "conclusive proof the A&M alumni and boosters are liars and assholes". What you present is proof, perhaps, that Herb is full of shit. But that doesn't make us all liars and assholes.
Herb - you are full of shit. I don't know where you got your "facts" but you aren't doing the school or the alumni any favors when you 1) spout off with unsubstantiated statements or 2) blather on about military tradition when it has nothing to do with the original post regarding the 12th Man trademark. Get a grip, man.
JDSekula - I don't know about the anti-south or anti-Texas prejudice, but I do agree about defending trademarks. You can't pick and choose. Unfortunate, but that's the system.
Finally, Seth - I don't recall the university ever asserting to own the number 12. They do, however, own the trademark for the term "12 Man" and have every right to enforce that trademark. Why does that bother you so much?
I would like to set some more facts straight. Since it apparently slip your mind to do research on the school before posting the thread, I would like to clear things up. It isn't very well know by most people outside of Texas, but Texas A&M University, originally Texas A&M College, was the first insitution of higer education established in Texas back in 1876. While originally planed to be a part of the University of Texas system, it was not made so as you obviosly know. Furthermore, the University of Texas was not built until the 1880's. So, logically it would be better to say in retrospect that the students of the University of Texas were A&M rejects. Though, that might just be my personal opinion. . .
As a tree-hugging, card-carrying liberal who just happened to attend Texas A&M by some crazy fluke of fate, I gotta say...this post bothers even me.
Trust me, graduates of TAMU have more right than anyone on this planet to complain about Aggies. I had to put up with them (us??) for 4+ years of my life. It wasn't easy. A&M *is* a very conservative school, and the homogeneous culture & group mentality of the place can really get annoying. Believe it or not, though, I quickly found some like-minded lefties to hang out with, and my years in the sleepy town of Bryan-College Station were some of the easiest and most free-spirited of my life.
So honestly, Seth, we're not all a bunch of backwater, illiterate sports fiends. I couldn't give a rat's ass how the Aggies are doing in any particular sport. But if they trademarked the phrase "12th Man" -- which they've been using for 84 years and in all likelihood originated -- then don't they have the right to defend it? And the place to do that is...in court, yes? As much as the closeted Aggie in me might hate coming out for the sole purpose of defending this stance, I think A&M is well within its rights -- and breaks no rules of decorum or fair play -- in doing so.
By the way, would you please quit saying that Aggies "think they own the number 12" -- which you've used now for at least two headlines? Phrasing it that way completely misrepresents the issue, and ultimately makes you look very silly.
"ultimately makes you look very silly"
I was thinking it made this guy out to be a total douchebag. This guy is obviously a retard with an unhealthy obession with Texas A&M.
The only reason A&M is so obsessed with the "12th man" deal is because they can't win with 11 men.
Hook 'Bm.
Aggies blow: GO TECH GO, FIGHT TECH FIGHT
"Texas A&M University, originally Texas A&M College, was the first insitution of higer education established in Texas back in 1876"
Hardly. Southwestern and Baylor are two that I can think of right off hand.
He meant the first state-sponsored school. The pigeonholing is unfortunate. I'm a fourth generation Aggie. But, I'm only moderately conservative. I understand that absolutes are a fallacy, and I believe that extremist thought might very well be the greatest flaw in humanity. Not to mention, one that has persisted since before recorded history. I enjoy our traditions and our sports, despite our lagging success at the moment. I think I attend an excellent university who's agricultural and veterinary schools are amongst the best in the nation. From what I understand, some of our other schools are nothing to disregard either. But, I also understand that Texas has excellent law and medical programs. Thanks to the science channel, and a severe weather special, I now know that Texas Tech has a fine meteorology program. I don't have anything against theses schools. I have many friends who attend both. Texas is our rival, but that's all in good fun as far as I'm concerned. In fact, I've had numerous people from other universities nationwide complement our hospitality in College Station, and our respect elsewhere. And, I am a Christian. I don't rub it in people's faces, I don't go around trying to recruit people, I'm not loud and obnoxious about it, and I reserve judgement for God. Meaning, for example, if you're gay, I'll let God decide if that's a problem. To me, you're just another person. And, so, I guess what I have to say is, I'm sorry you don't like me because I'm an Aggie from Texas. I try my best. I guess some bad Aggie must have ruined us for you. But, I hope one day you think differently, so we can go have a few beers and some fun.
Well said Ryan. Some of my best friends are from Texas and Texas Tech, but I still love the rivalry! All in good taste.
The rest of you, remember, that what goes around comes around, and for you Jack, it already has cycled many times.
Cody,
Class of '90 Texas A&M University.