Last Saturday I had a chance to attend my first-ever LSU football game. I’d planned to go to Baton Rouge only to attend the chancellor’s private tailgate party, but at some point I got swayed into staying for the actual game — which, frankly, was the last thing I wanted to do. I tried to make excuses about needing to get back in time for Art for Art’s Sake but ultimately ceded to others and to the notion that every Louisianian needs to experience at least one game in Death Valley.
Consider that feat crossed off my bucket list.
After four years of cavalier college football in Virginia, I thought I’d seen the breadth of Southern football — the dresses, the bow ties, the rabidness, the long-standing traditions. But nothing — not even all the Saints games I’ve attended, combined — compares to the experience of LSU football. All jokes aside: It’s out of control. The fans are unlike any I’ve ever seen before — they’re a bona fide brand, like fiends drunk off “purple drank,” dripping in gold. “Half the people in that stadium can’t spell LSU,” James Carville, an LSU alumnus, once told the Wall Street Journal. But “it doesn’t matter. They identify with it. It’s culturally such a big deal.” And he’s right. Well, at least about the cultural identification part.
A few weeks ago, fellow blogger Jordan DeFrank shared a great story about her fervid love for LSU football. Reading it then, I couldn’t fathom the obsession, but reading it now, it all makes sense. She grew up going to LSU football games and marvels at all its positive cultural underpinnings. Sadly, I grew up with the assumption that LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama football games were cultural events to shy away from and just watch on television, particularly for reasons LSU student Jerit Roser wrote about last year in the Times-Picayune regarding the spirit of SEC football. And because of a YouTube clip my friend sent me last year (not sure why).
Nevertheless, my experience at the game last weekend diminished these assumptions and fears about what to expect. I fit right on in, even with my ostensible (and intentional) lack of team colors. But if I had to choose between teams I’d take a Saints game over LSU any day. LSU games may be more eventful and homegrown, but Saints games are more culturally diverse and have widespread appeal. Not to mention, it doesn’t take hours to drive a mile away from the Dome, unlike the gridlock one can expect after a LSU game.
I understand now why LSU football appeals to so many fans, and I can honestly say I appreciate the positive aspects it prides itself on: the culture of togetherness, loyalty, success and dominance. Even so, I don’t think I’ll ever make it back for another game. I’m happy I braved Death Valley and survived, but there’s a first and last time for everything. Go Tigers. Geaux Saints!
