When stadiums around the country sleep the night before a gameday, Texas A&M’s Kyle Field is wide awake.

Aggie fans pack the stands to participate in a tradition known as the “Midnight Yell,” which takes place at midnight before every home football game.
To Texas A&M fans, it’s a custom that means so much to the university. To those on the outside, it’s bizarre and confusing.
Between the five young men in denim overalls leading chants on the field and the impressively coordinated chants that the fans know by heart, it’s often misunderstood to those not a part of it.
“People might call us a cult. I don’t like saying that, but truly when you come here, you realize like it’s family,” Jake Carter said. “Being a part of all these super cool traditions makes it so special.”
Carter, a senior at Texas A&M from San Antonio, is the head yell leader. At Texas A&M, that position is royalty.
“I’m just super blessed,” Carter said. “I’m so thankful to be able to lead this university. I’m a first generation Aggie, so to be able to be in these shoes and lead at this capacity is really cool.”
The Midnight Yell dates back to 1931, when Texas A&M was an all-male military school.
It began when a group of Corps of Cadets decided to practice yells before a football game. The word quickly spread, and a tradition was born.
Fast forward to today, and that same pregame ritual runs deep, just like it did over 90 years ago.
“We’ll tell fables, poke some fun at the other team and do our yells. Really cool tradition at A&M,” Carter said. “Our first one for Notre Dame, we had 45,000 people, so super cool tradition at midnight.”
The evening’s jokes on Friday consisted of references to swamp-infested Baton Rouge and the allegedly less-than-rigorous nature of LSU’s coursework.
Carter is one of the many head yell leaders to come through Texas A&M. It’s a position that is elected by the entire student body, and anyone is able to run for the position.
But Carter is a first-generation Aggie, so being elected as head yell leader meant that much more.
“It meant the world,” Carter said. “I really realized like the elected position is a position of service, but a lot of people see it at like football games. We do upwards of 400 events for the university every year.”
Since being head yell leader, Carter’s become a familiar face to many on campus. It’s normal for him to be approached by students or Aggie fans to say hello or ask for pictures.
While the role comes with a degree of fame at Texas A&M, Carter appreciates the role most for its ability to impact others at the university.
“I tell people it’s not who I am, but the uniform that I wear and the university I represent, which is cool,” Carter said.
To Carter, the Midnight Yell is what separates Texas A&M from other schools.
He understands that the tradition comes with criticism from people outside of College Station. But while many see strange chants and odd gestures, Carter sees an aspect of family.
Every school has their own traditions. The walk down Victory Hill, “Callin’ Baton Rouge” in the fourth quarter of football games, and the Golden Band from Tigerland pregame march on the field are just a few at LSU.
While Tiger fans cherish those rituals, Texas A&M is fond of their own. It’s not meant to be understood by outsiders, but appreciated for the sake of it being a tradition.
It doesn’t take away from the impact of the game itself, but rather makes it that much more special.