I only wore spats for three years in a college band and couldn't stand them. They stayed dirty from the first gameday to the point where the elastic strap under your shoe snapped, which was usually the second gameday. I am firmly anti-spat.
My mom showed me the 03 finals broadcast before my freshman year in high school, but it didn't really stick. A couple of months later, one of my friends handed me a CD with "1996 Blue Devils" scribbled on it (we were playing Club Blue as our show that year). First big hit was all it took.