We are the Aggies, the Aggies are we
They say you can’t go home again, but for me that isn’t true. Yes, changes happen and everything is not the same as when you left. However, the ethos is still there. And for me, the four years I spent at Aggieland wouldn’t have been complete without Aggie Women’s Basketball.
Watching the ladies battle it out on the court, sitting in the family & friends section (almost getting thrown out), yelling at refs for bad calls, watching the athletes grow into strong women, going to house parties together, and all of it culminating into a 2011 NCAA National Championship. Now those are some feel good moments that last a lifetime.
I went to high school with a Latvian girl named Katrina Limbaha. She played ball in Europe and came over to the US to play basketball here. She ended up getting a full ride to play at Texas A&M University. We stayed friends through high school, college, and post graduation. I was introduced to Aggie WBB through Katrina when I arrived on campus. It was during my time at A&M that I fully appreciated the level of basketball these women were playing. Even though they were winning on and off the court, the stands weren’t filled. It was disheartening to see. However, the men’s team was always in the stands supporting the women. That was a constant.
Jump to 2022 and Coach Gary Blair, the fearless leader of Aggie Women’s Basketball is retiring. He led the women to so many championships and titles that it is hard to list them all. But what stands out to me, far more than the winning seasons and titles, is the fact that he elevated the game to national prominence. He supported the women in this game because he loves basketball. HE LOVES IT NO MATTER WHO IS PLAYING.
That’s one thing that a lover of a sport outwardly shows day in and day out. It doesn’t matter who is playing the sport, if you truly love it then you want to be around it and watch anyone play it. I love basketball and I love watching people play the game. So on February 24th, 2022 I attended Coach Blair’s last game. I reached out to my old Aggie WBB pals to see if they had any tickets, I wanted to purchase tickets but the seats I wanted weren’t available on such late notice. Skylar Collins reached out to Sydney Carter and two tickets were left at Reed Arena for me, just like old times.
Being in the arena gave me a chill that you don’t understand unless you love sport. Yes, things had changed, there were tons of fans in the arena, I saw familiar faces in the new decor - Sydney Colson, Maryann Baker. But it was still home.
I walked to the student section with my mother and we watched basketball. We got to watch the Aggies take on the South Carolina Gamecocks led by legendary Coach Dawn Staley (5-time SEC Coach of the Year). We watched as Aliyah A. Boston and Destanni Henderson lit up the court. It was not the outcome I wanted for the Aggies on Coach Blair’s last home game, but the scoreboard didn’t matter at that point. Coach Blair didn’t have anything to prove. Everyone there knew his dedication to his craft.
He left an indelible mark on WBB. It was almost a passing of a torch to see Coach Staley and Coach Blair embrace. I know we have a long way to go toward equity in sport, but seeing the positive changes in WBB. The use of March Madness with WBB, the eyeballs on the game, the higher ratings, the TV time, and so many other positives coming out of the sport, I know it is in good hands. I will miss seeing Coach Blair on the sidelines, but as he said that night - his work is not done. He will still be elevating the game in his own way. He will always be giving to the sport that courses through his veins. Even though Coach Blair was not at the Texas Aggie Bar Association Conference on February 26th, I gave him a round of applause from the podium where I was moderating a panel on NIL. I stood on stage with legendary Aggie Football Coach Jackie Sherrill in front of a room of Aggies and honored Coach Blair. The round of applause from the audience and on stage was loud as could be and I hope Coach Blair heard it.
Thank you Coach Blair.
