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Texas A&M just got a check from the Indianapolis Colts for “12th Man” use
Published:
Texas A&M owns the trademark for “12th Man.”
As such, the Aggies filed a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Colts in November.
Apparently the two sides have reached a settlement “amicably and with good will,” the school announced Wednesday. Terms of the settlement were not released.
The Aggies began using the “12th Man” concept in 1922. During a game against Centre College, coach Dana X. Bible had to pull E.King Gill from the stands due to injuries. Gill, an athlete in another sport at the time, suited up for the second half but never played.
That started the tradition of Texas A&M students standing throughout each game and referencing themselves as the “12th Man.”
The Colts have used the 12th Man term for more than 20 years.
The Seattle Seahawks have also used the 12th Man term, retiring the No. 12 in honor of its fans in 1984.
Texas A&M was not the first school to use the term. In 1900, a magazine published by the University of Minnesota referred to its school’s football fans as “the twelfth man on the team.”
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
