'So Much Free Time': Jim Schlossnagle Sheds Light On Texas A&M Aggies Traditions

Without the automatic boost gained from the home field, the Texas A&M Aggies will have to find ways to keep their morale high in Omaha. Luckily, they have long-standing traditions in place for that reason.

Jun 21, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle (22) celebrates the win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Charles Schwab Field. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in his head-coaching tenure in College Station, Jim Schlossnagle is headed to Omaha for the College World Series.

Getting there wasn't as straightforward as he would have hoped, especially after losing a series in the Super Regionals last season to Stanford, but the Texas A&M Aggies got there this year. They spent a decent amount of time at No. 1, swept their postseason in Aggieland, and dealt with plenty of adversity, but they made it.

And behind the scenes of all of that success? Silly, yet, identity-forming traditions.

May 17, 2024; College Station, Texas; USA: A young Texas A&M Aggies fan fires a bubble machine following a run scored. / Matt Guzman - AllAggies on SI

Fans spraying bubbles after every run scored at Olsen Field is a tradition long-standing, as is the chanted song to a clip from Rifleman that occurs with every strikeout. Newer ones include personalized chants and dances for each batter stepping up to the plate, but while those are more public, others originate in the dugout and don't become "mainstream" until they're shown.

Like playing "The Rattlin' Bog" after every run.

Ahead of the Aggies' regular-season series against the Vanderbilt Commodores, Texas A&M outfielders Hayden Schott and Jace LaViolette had an idea.

"We were like, 'Dude, if we got the whole crowd in on that and played it on every run or something, this place would be a boombox,'" Schott said of starting the tradition. "Friday night, obviously, we had a great baseball game, but it just added so much to the crowd. Everyone was so loud."

That they were. And for the rest of the season, the song became a staple.

Schlossnagle gets a front-row seat to that tradition, as well as some others, like the "wagon thing," the Pringles cans, and the mini basketball goal. He might not have a hand in them, but he certainly enjoys them, to say the least.

"I have nothing to do with any of them," the coach said. "Pringles came out of just a speech when I was mad at the team. That wagon thing, that was LaViolette coming up (with it). And "Rattlin' Bog" was LaViolette and Schott."

During a season when the Aggies hoped to return to Omaha after missing on it the year before, whatever worked to boost performance and morale would have been fine with Schlossnagle. This season, that ended up being "The Rattlin' Bog," and next year, it might be something totally different.

But according to him, that's just the game of baseball.

Jun 9, 2024; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M celebrates after sweeping Oregon in the Bryan-College Station Super Regional series at Olsen Field, Blue Bell Park. / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

"I think (the sport) lends itself to that," Schlossnagle said. "You have so much free time. You play every day. It's even more so in professional baseball. So, you come up with something to break the ... monotony. Something to keep everybody positive."

"There is a lot of failure in baseball," he added. "You need something to bring the guys back to neutral and keep them positive and keep them uplifted. I think baseball players tend to do that more often than other sports."

As the Aggies look ahead to their impending bracket play in the Men's College World Series, keeping their morale positive will be even more crucial without being backed by a stadium full of their own fans. Even without a built-in boombox made of fans' singing, they'll likely sing "The Rattlin' Bog" to themselves. They'll continue to slam basketballs after home runs.

They'll continue to be themselves. And they'll hopefully get deep run out of it.

"(We're) excited to be in Omaha," Schlossnagle said. "Excited to represent the 12th Man and Texas A&M University here in the Men's College World Series. It seems like we just started practice a couple of weeks ago.

"Looking forward to staying here as long as we can to win a national title."