Twenty years ago, the Bonfire Game brought out the best of every Aggie and Longhorn
Jamie Lynn Hand was 19 when her life stopped, and while there is an explanation to her death it will never make any sense to the family that lost her, and forever mourns her absence.
Jamie Hand is one of the 12 Texas A&M students who lost their lives in the bonfire tragedy 20 years ago this month.
“When you send your child to college you anticipate they will go to class, learn, and make some friends,” said Shelley Mraz, Jamie’s older sister. “You never anticipate anything that they do will be life-threatening, especially something involving school spirit. In Aggieland, they have all of these traditions, and you just never expect anything like this to happen.
“We could never dream of an accident of the magnitude that happened.”
This week, Mraz and her family made the trip from Tyler to College Station to participate in the 20-year anniversary memorial service. Nearly 1,000 people participated in the service in the dark hours on Monday morning.
At 2:42 a.m. on Nov. 18, 1999, construction of the bonfire logs collapsed. Twenty-seven people were injured, and 11 students died; one former student also died.
“The worst thing is if those young people who had given their time for a university they loved are forgotten,” Mraz said in a phone interview from her home in Tyler this week. “It means a great deal to the families to be able to go there and share their memories of their children with those who are there.”
Eight days later after the bonfire tragedy, No. 20 Texas A&M hosted No. 6 Texas at Kyle Field before what was then the largest crowd in the state: 86,128.
The day was the best of both schools. That day was the best of every Longhorn, and every Aggie. That day is the reason these two should eventually reunite on a football field. That day was the best of every Texan.
The acrimony between the two schools, and specifically the respective athletic departments, exists for a reason. The anniversary is a reminder that the reason is, ultimately, dumb.
For every Aggie and every Longhorn who protests “you are the reason we broke up,” always remember there was a day when petty differences didn’t exist and nothing mattered more than just enjoying life, specifically the company of friends and family. Ultimately, the rest doesn’t matter.
WHEN EVERY LONGHORN BECAME AN AGGIE
Eight days after her sister died, Shelley Mraz was at home watching the Aggies play “TU” at 11 a.m. Her entire family is an Aggie.
“That game was so much fun every year,” she said. “I know some people who didn’t go to either university look at it from the outside, and they think it’s a hatred. It’s not. It’s just a love of the competition.
“What was so predominating that day was the fact that the TU fans and family were mourning with us. One of the things that stuck out was watching their band perform and they held up the flags for TU and A&M.”
The Texas band dedicated its halftime performance to victims of the bonfire tragedy. Before the band played, the announcer said, “May the Longhorn spirit and the spirit of Aggieland never die.”
On Kyle Field, with no advanced warning from Texas, the Longhorn band played “Amazing Grace,” and flag members raised two “Texas A&M” flags next to two “Texas” flags. As the song ended, only the Texas flags were lowered.
The band then played Taps, and the Texas students removed their cowboy hats.
“It was just solidarity,” Mraz said. “It was, ‘I stand with you.’ You know, A&M and TU work together in all kinds of educational and social programs all over the state. I think they understood what it was like to lose a part of your family.”
To conclude the Aggies band performance, it lined up in its customary block “T,” which spans more than 50 yards. Typically this is when they play “The Aggie War Hymn” and run into the end zone. On this afternoon they marched in silence.
Kyle Field was so quiet you could hear the boots of the performers as they marched off the grass.
THE AGGIES’ DEFINING WIN
Because Texas quarterback Major Applewhite came down with food poisoning, coach Mack Brown had freshman Chris Simms make his first start.
Texas led 16-6 in the fourth quarter, and then something seemed to changed. Texas was the better team according to the polls, and talent, too. Applewhite eventually came into the game.
It did not matter. Texas A&M was supposed to win this, the 106th meeting between the football teams.
The Aggies won, and with it came a sense of joy that broke the relentless sadness that coated the entire university for more than a week.
For those who lost loved ones in the tragedy, the joy was temporary. The Aggies won the game, but for so many people there was a painful loss to handle.
The answers are the answers. Closure is an ongoing negotiation. You move on, but the change is permanent.
“Our mom copes. She does the best she can,” Mraz said. “She lives for her children, and her grandchildren. She’s a teacher at heart, and she teaches. I think there will always be something missing for the rest of her life.”
The official annual tradition of the bonfire ended, although a smaller one off campus exists.
“I would love to see something like that come back for the sake of the students,” Mraz said. “Jamie spent her time out there and she loved it, and all of the traditions. She was having a great time with her friends. If it could be safe, I think she would have wanted it to continue.”
The 12 who died that day will never be forgotten, and their loss inspired a new tradition to remember what was, and what was lost.
The 20th anniversary is a reminder of so much, not the least of which, once the petty differences are put aside, Texas and Texas A&M belong together forever.
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 5:30 AM.
