The Tyrone Golden Eagle football team may take the field every Friday night with eleven players, but as many opposing teams have noticed through the years, there’s one more player impacting the game – the “12th man.”
In honor of the loyalty and vocal prowess of the fans who follow the Golden Eagles all around the area each week, the players, coaches, and booster club will be dedicating a “12th man” flag that will be raised before the kickoff of the Lewistown game tomorrow evening at Gray-Vets Memorial Field.
The 12th man was trademarked by and originated from the Aggies of Texas A&M University in 1922. The Golden Eagle fans will now officially be recognized as having the kind of impact on a football game that can distract the visiting team or persuade a referee to make a favorable decision.
Football booster members Janet Cherry and Missy Gensimore took the initiative to find a worthy flag for purchase at the request of Golden Eagle Head Coach John Franco. The flag will be raised on the same pole that the American flag and state championship flag waves proudly at every home game.
Franco and the boosters wanted a fan to raise the 12th man flag Friday night during a dedication ceremony, and everyone involved agreed that one of Tyrone’s biggest fans, Ken Miles, also known as “The Megaphone Man,” would be the perfect candidate.
Golden Eagle game announcer, Gary McGovern, will be reading a statement about the 12th man flag before Ken raises it on Friday.
The flag will be raised before every home game from here on out, just as Texas A&M does. Franco and his players hope that the exuberant fans will turn the flag raising into a new tradition that extends the ever-present mantra of “Team, Toughness, Tyrone.”
For all Tyrone fans who might be interested in purchasing a 12th man T-shirt, information will be provided in Saturday’s edition of The Daily Herald on how to attain a shirt.
