What does Gig 'Em Aggies mean? Explaining the Texas A&M tradition and how it started originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Texas A&M football has been around since 1894. Over 130 years, the Aggies have become one of college football's most highly respected and historic programs.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFrom the Southwestern Conference and Big 12, to its 2012 addition to the SEC, Texas A&M has regularly been in national conversations each college football season. The program claims three national titles, also having two Heisman Trophy winners.
While College Station has become a staple of the college football world, there's an Aggies tradition that can be fairly confusing to outsiders: Saying "Gig 'Em" about their squad. The phrase, unique to Texas A&M athletics, dates back over a century.
Here's what to know about the meaning of "Gig 'Em Aggies."
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AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhat does Gig 'Em Aggies mean?
Essentially, when a Texas A&M fan says "Gig 'em," they're saying the equivalent of "go get them" or "let's get them." The phrase has become the fanbase's go-to for optimism and rooting on their Aggies teams.
"Gig 'em" goes back almost 100 years, when a member of the Texas A&M Board of Regents shouted the phrase in an effort to hype up the football team before a game against the TCU Horned Frogs. The "gig" referred to a pronged spear that is used for hunting frogs or fish, like TCU's mascot, a horned frog.
Over time "Gig 'em" has become the go-to for any cheering for the Aggies, also with the thumbs-up hand gesture, although it originated from the TCU rivalry.
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Texas A&M Gig 'Em history
“Gig ’em" is a phrase that dates back to 1930, according to Texas A&M, when P.L. “Pinkie” Downs, a member of the Texas A&M Board of Regents, asked the crowd at a yell practice before a Texas Christian University football game: “What are we going to do to those horned frogs?”
Downs answered his own question by saying “Gig ’em, Aggies!" He added a fist with his thumb extended straight up, and it caught on to become a sort of rally cry for Aggies fans.
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AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGig 'Em hand sign
When Texas A&M fans say "gig 'em," it comes with a thumbs-up gesture, which Downs is said to have used when he created the term in 1930. Given the positive message of a thumbs-up, it grew attached to the "gig 'em" phrase as a way to root on the Aggies.
Here's a further explanation of the "Gig 'em" gesture, including Eli Manning:
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