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As much as the 12th Man and Highway 6 have been a part of their lives, the number that really binds the Burke family together is 84. It’s the number Tommy Burke wore as a tight end for Texas A&M from 1969-72. And it’s the number that one of A&M’s up-and-coming soccer stars chose for her athletic identification. So on a soccer team loaded with Aggie legacies – five to be exact – Amanda Burke is rekindling her father’s maroon pride the best way she could imagine… like father, like daughter. "My dad has just been so excited," said the bright-eyed freshman midfielder from Spring Klein High School. "He used to play football here, and that’s why I wear his number. Every game before I put on that jersey, I’m like, ‘I am actually wearing a Texas A&M jersey and playing for the Aggies.’ It’s just an amazing feeling."
Amanda Burke was attending yell practices with her family before she was teething. So when the opportunity came to sign a letter-of-intent with Coach G. Guerrieri’s A&M program, there was little hesitation. That’s not to say Burke wasn’t courted by schools from all over the nation. In fact, she picked the Aggies over Duke and Notre Dame – in football terms it would be like a national top 100 player picking A&M over Florida State and Michigan. Actually, Burke was considered one of the top 16 players in the country coming out of high school, honing her skills on the prestigious United States Under-17 National Team. "For us, she was our top recruiting priority," Guerrieri said. "She’s one of the best players in the country. We’re always looking for anything to get us into a family’s house and anything to get us through a front door. And for them, the door was already maroon, so it was easy to get through." Burke played just one year of high school soccer as a freshman, deciding to play on the club soccer circuit instead. She played on a five-time state champion in club soccer, and now, has her sights set on a Big 12 championship for the Aggies. A&M suffered a major setback toward that goal on Oct. 14, when fourth-ranked Nebraska delivered a 4-2 loss to the Aggies, who were still reeling from a 2-2 tie at Colorado two weeks earlier. Despite the loss and the tie, the Aggies will be considered as favorites to land an NCAA Tournament bid, along with Nebraska and Texas from the Big 12. And Burke will be a major reason why, even if she has just been kicking on campus for only two months. "We think she’s got the potential to be one of the best midfielders that we’ve had here," Guerrieri said. "She’s one of the few players that has started every game. She’s great in the air. She wins the vast majority of aerial battles she goes into. "She keeps the game very simple, and she’s not a flashy player with her technique when the ball is on the ground. She has the size and strength and speed to get past anybody. She has all the intangibles you need to be very successful." Burke can thank her father for some of those skills, as he coached her for several years on the club level. While she began to rise up the national charts for women’s soccer, Tommy Burke thought she would excel on the Division I level. But starting on a top 10 team at his alma mater? "It’s like a dream come true," Tommy Burke said. "I knew it was a possibility, especially later in her career as a youth player. She was always very determined and gifted, and she did a lot of work on her own. I thought it would be possible, but I thought it still might be kind of a longshot. It’s very, very special."
Amanda Burke is a slender midfielder who has relied on speed more than size to pop into the A&M starting lineup, where she joins three other freshmen. And while she had scored a goal and handed out two assists through 10 matches, her performances to remember are probably a year away – and after a year longer in the weight room. "These girls have been lifting weights for so long, and I haven’t been," said Burke, the 2000 Homecoming Queen at Klein. "But I’m working on it just to hold my own. I was surprised with all the good players on our team that I would get to play as much as I have been. "That’s the hardest thing when you’re a freshman is to find your confidence. I’m still working on it and I’m still playing like a freshman, at least that’s what they tell me." When Burke begins to play like an upperclassmen, and the fruits of perhaps the best recruiting class in school history begin to bloom, the Aggies should contend for the Big 12 title in 2002 and beyond. Burke says there are other titles out there, as well. "This year, we just struggled with those two games, but I know we’ll come out fighting (in the Big 12 Tournament)," she added. "In the next three years, I definitely want to have a national championship." The 2001 soccer season – complete with five washouts due to weather – has been anything but smooth for the Aggies. But at least the injuries haven’t mounted like they did last fall, when an unbelievable rash of knee injuries stung the program. Still, the Aggies likely will be seeded second or third in next month’s Big 12 Soccer Tournament in San Antonio. And then A&M will hope to advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAAs for the first time in school history. For now, however, Amanda Burke can’t wipe the smile off her face. She’s in Aggieland, after all, living out her dream and her parents’ at the same time. "It’s like your home away from home," she said. "Everyone is so friendly. And I know a lot of people say that, but it’s true. I guess you can’t see it unless you’re here." Tommy Burke has seen it since his days as a reserve tight end under Gene Stallings and Emory Bellard. And now the road trips to College Station are as frequent as ever to visit Amanda and another Aggie daughter, Meredith. "I think I need to win the lottery," Tommy Burke said with a laugh. For an Aggie parent, he already has.
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12th Man Foundation unless otherwise noted.