ROAD TRIP RANKINGS
The Reflector is rating the road trip experiences for all away games this season in hopes of providing our readers with a reference point for future trips. Trips will be graded on a 10-point scale in 10 categories and then given a cumulative score.
This week … LSU.
1. Ease of Travel-I drove to Jackson and caught Interstate 55, then traveled south to Interstate 12. For obvious reasons, Interstate 12 is a much smoother ride than Highway 12. There is absolutely no scenery along the way, unless you are awed by the acres of methodical forest that line the sides of almost all Southern thoroughfares. The drive was a little less than five hours, and navigation was easy. (8 points)
2. Parking-Coming into the game, every Tiger Stadium war story I’d been told started with “Of course we had to park like two miles from the stadium…” I expected the worst, but was surprised to find a free lot (field) about a half-mile from the stadium. The distance was very manageable, and actually closer than a lot of the pay lots we passed. (8 points)
3. Game Day Atmosphere-LSU’s campus is beautiful. There were a ton of tailgaters, and they were making all sorts of crazy Cajun concoctions-chili, boudin, jambalaya, etc. By the time I reached the stadium, my sinuses were wide awake even if the rest of me was not. When we arrived at the stadium, the sidewalks outside were lined with fans watching the cheerleaders perform a few of their routines. The chants of “Tiger Bait” were pretty loud and intimidating. Speaking of tigers, Mike V-LSU’s live Bengal tiger mascot-has his own habitat just north of the stadium, and is loaded up and brought to the field during the pre-game festivities. I don’t care what your background is, standing in the presence of a 400-pound tiger will intimidate you. There’s nothing else like that anywhere.
(9 points)
4. Stadium-Tiger Stadium has been called a shrine to college football, and even though our game was a midday kickoff rather than being a more raucous night-start, I tend to agree. The stadium will hold 92,400, and 91,960 attended Saturday’s game. That type of crowd makes the stadium the sixth-largest city in Louisiana every time there is a home game. Wow. The stadium also has a bit of an aura about it. It is an older stadium, and the dorms that used to line its sides are still visible. Death Valley, as it is known, has the feel of a stately old mansion. It is large and rickety, and is not happy to see you. Unless, of course, you are wearing purple or gold. (10 points)
5. Fan Knowledge-Passion is one thing Tiger fans are definitely not lacking. The stadium was packed hours before the game, and again everyone sang the fight song and alma mater. Every fan I talked to was able to give me a laundry list of why their team was better than mine, and some were quite forceful about it. Once I watched the Tigers open the game on a 35-0 run, I realized they knew what they were talking about. (8 points)
6. Friendliness of Fans-For the most part I think Tiger fans get a bad rap about being obnoxious. Sure there are drunks and crazies out there-even at 11 a.m.-but for the most part, the fans were cordial in explaining why they were better than the Bulldogs. As I was driving up to the stadium I stopped by a group of tailgaters to ask for parking tips. The leader of the group was brandishing a huge purple flag, but stopped waving and yelling just to come talk to me. Then once he got close enough to read that my license plate said Mississippi, he quickly rammed the flag in my window and shook it all over me. The key? The entire time he was saying “I’m sorry, man. I’ve got to do it!” Now that’s class. (7 points)
7. Concessions-There was nothing particularly interesting in the concession lines. Of course I was too full on crawfish etouffee to notice or care. (8 points)
8. Band-Just before kickoff a veteran sportswriter leaned over to me and said “Watch this. It’s the best three minutes of entertainment in the entire SEC.” He was right. The Golden Band From Tigerland was amazing to watch. Their symmetry, pageantry and seamless motion across the field were the best I have ever seen from a marching band. I’m sure they did many other things that were technically appealing, but I have no idea what they are. All I know is from a purely aesthetic standpoint they were extremely impressive. (10 points)
9. Local Scene-Baton Rouge is the capitol of Louisiana, and evening activities abound. There are two casinos, several dance clubs and visitors should keep in mind that they are only about an hour from New Orleans’ French Quarter. (8 points)
10. Wildcard-If there is ever an opportunity to go to either Baton Rouge or LSU, take it, regardless of whether there is a football game. But should you happen to be there on a Saturday evening when the grills are blazing outside the stadium, the fans are drinking, the band is playing and the Tigers are playing under the lights … DO NOT MISS IT! (10 points)
Score-86