Red Rally happens every year on the Thursday before the Rio Grande Rivalry game. Isabel Gonzalez/The Lobo Lair
Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
Like every year, the burning of a 25-foot tall Aggie took place the Thursday before the Rio Grande Rivalry/Battle of I-25 football game between the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State.
The event began at 8pm at Johnson Field, located at the UNM main campus. Lobo fans gathered around the paper Aggie, built by ASUNM members and student volunteers, as a DJ played music.
Let it BURN 😎🔥 pic.twitter.com/krTFoWUNCY
— The Lair New Mexico (@thelairnm) September 14, 2018
The first part of the night was a pep rally that included the marching band and spirit squad. Football head coach Bob Davie and seniors from the team went on stage to pump up the crowd. The coach said the rivalry between UNM and NMSU this weekend was not just going to be between football players, but also between each school’s student body, band and cheerleaders.
“It’s all of us against all of them,” he said.
Once the Aggie began burning, the football players walked around introducing themselves to fans, taking photos and handing out game tickets. People occasionally started chants bashing the rival school and continued to dance until the event officially ended at 9pm.
Players giving out tickets 🎟🏈 pic.twitter.com/YOFTzl1TG2
— The Lair New Mexico (@thelairnm) September 14, 2018
UNM currently leads the series against NMSU 70-33-5. However the Aggies have won the rivalry game the last two years in a row. This year the game will be at the Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m.
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