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Wake up and smell the coffee. A&M's trademark was protected only for college teams -- not the pros. We had a weak legal hand to play. This deal gives A&M a legal basis now to protect the 12th Man trademark in the pros because the Seahawks have recognized our claim and are going to pay us to license it. Not for a buck but for $100k plus enforcement costs each year. The administration made this deal, not Athletics. If you think they'll license the 12th Man to anyone else, you have not been paying attention. But we do now have a much stronger case for extending trademark protection to the pros as well as colleges. Moore took a weak case and built us a wall -- and got money for it besides.

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Someday, somewhere, after getting fustrated trying to explain the Spirit of Aggieland, you sir, will finally tell your audience:

From the outside, you can't understand it, from the inside you can't explain it!

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From the outside, you can't understand it, from the inside you can't explain it!

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And you might consider whether a saying that Aggies have about that spirit—“From the outside, you can’t understand it; from the inside, you can’t explain it”—serves Texas A&M well or badly.

It so happens that Robert M. Gates, the president of Texas A&M University, has been thinking about these exact questions for the past four years. Don’t tell him that A&M can’t be explained. “I hate that phrase,” he says. “I don’t think it’s accurate. Texas A&M is a unique blending of academic excellence, tradition, and spirit. That is explainable.”

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