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By Cameron Kiszla
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It's often said that college football — especially SEC football — is more akin to a religion than a sport.
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko recently got to put that theory to the test, and it appears football fandom might have a slight edge over the rules of the church.
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Elko appeared on "The Paul Finebaum Show" from SEC Media Days Wednesday morning, and he told the eponymous host that he's run into Aggie supporters even in one of the most sacred places on earth.
Elko Takes Wife On 'One Heck of a Vacation'
Elko noted that in 2023, when he was named the head coach at Texas A&M, he had to leave Duke quickly, and his wife was left in North Carolina to keep the family running.
"I owed my wife one heck of a vacation, because when I went to Texas A&M, she got stuck behind in Durham with the kids, so I owed her a good one," Elko said.
So this offseason, the Elkos went to Europe, enjoying Barcelona, the Mediterranean Sea and Rome.
It was in Rome — well, more specifically, Vatican City — that Elko couldn't escape his day job.
"One of the most wild moments was ... I was in the Sistine Chapel," Elko detailed. "I'm in the Sistine Chapel and I'm staring at the ceiling and I hear 'Oh my God, that's Coach Elko. We've got to get a picture with him.'"
A Texas A&M family, including two alumni and two students, noticed their head coach, and their attention was on Elko, not the world-famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo.
"I took a picture with an Aggie family in the Sistine Chapel, which is a complete no-no. I almost got locked up by the Italian police but I managed to get out OK," he joked.
While many would likely be taken aback by college football fans breaking the rules in such a holy place, Elko had a joke that perhaps Pope Leo XIV should consider his prominence.
"I don't think [Pope Leo] realized how I am compared to Michelangelo in College Station, Texas," he said. "I think in College Station, Texas, I might win."
And fortunately for Elko, his wife wasn't put out by College Station following them on their escape from college football.
"It was pretty surreal for sure. My wife was chuckling the whole time it was going on."
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