To say Texas A&M is protective of its "12th Man" slogan is probably a bit of an understatement.
The saying and tradition that's associated with it can be traced back to 1922, and the school values it so much that it trademarked the phrase years ago. If you want an idea of just how far they'll go to protect the trademark, just ask the Seattle Seahawks, who were sued when they started using the phrase and now pay a licensing fee to the university.
The defending national champion Florida State Seminoles became the latest team to draw the Aggies' scorn for using the phrase. FSU took out an ad for a football ticket package in the Tallahassee Democrat over the weekend and it featured the back of a Seminoles jersey with "12th man" displayed above the number instead of a name.
Texas A&M officials quickly gave the Seminoles the Mutombo finger-wag and called the school out on Twitter.
Florida State, perhaps not surprisingly, amended the ad and published another version of the image it used in the newspaper.
Remember, kids -- if you're going to use the phrase "12th Man" anywhere, be sure to call the Aggies first to ask for permission. They can get a little sensitive about the subject, after all.
*Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter **@BryanDFischer.*
