This past Saturday I felt the true effects of what the LSU Tigers affectionately call Death Valley. The sun blazed high and unbearable in the early afternoon sky over Baton Rouge. A few minutes into the game it was easy to see that yes, we Bulldogs would probably die.
And die we did-a long, torturous, merciless death. It was a painful shut-out, a pain which grew increasingly worse with every point added to the scoreboard (51, to be exact).
It wasn’t just the football team who suffered Saturday. I wore my maroon with pride and found myself braving “cat calls” of “Tiger bait!” I got a sunburn from the merciless rays reflecting off the shiny stadium seats. I was greeted with looks of half pity, half condescension when introducing myself to people as being from MSU.
Still, in spite of all this, I did not drive back to Starkville feeling that the weekend was a bust. I learned a lot during my time in Baton Rouge. Don’t stone me or pummel me with rotten tomatoes for saying this, but the truth is we can learn a lot from the Tigers.
We may say we bleed maroon here, but LSU fans truly do bleed purple and gold. While tailgating with some of the Tigers, I saw a woman wearing a headband with tiger ears, purple and gold shorts, and a stuffed tiger perched on her shoulder. I saw a couple walking a pair of poodles which had “Go Tigers” and “LSU” shaved into their fur.
Tacky? Incredibly. But they don’t care. Tacky or tasteful, the fans display the love of their school. So are the fans so dedicated because their team is successful, or is the team successful because their fans are so dedicated? If we showed the same amount of support for our Bulldogs that they show for the Tigers, I can’t help but think we’d have a stronger team.
I was utterly disappointed when, around halftime, the MSU fans started filing out of the Tigers’ stadium. Yes, both the heat and score were miserably sky high, but if we begin the game cheering for our team, we should end the game with the same enthusiasm. How are we showing support for our team if we desert them when they most need our encouragement?
By the end of the game, the MSU section had thinned embarrassingly. To think that so many people from Starkville drove more than 300 miles to see our team play and not stay for the entire game is saddening.
We were so motivated before and after the MSU vs. Tulane game. New coach, new season, new hope. Everyone wore their “Maroon Is All That Matters” shirts with pride and cheered on our Bulldogs to victory. Abandoning our team after a few losses-yes, even a loss against a 1-AA team-isn’t going to help motivate them to seek another win. LSU didn’t turn against their team after a loss to Auburn.
No one can expect the Bulldogs, especially in this transitional year, to end the season as SEC Champion. Give Coach Croom some time to mold and strengthen our team and I have no doubt he will make us proud.
In the meantime, we should take a few lessons from the LSU Tigers. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to be a little tacky, a little over-the-top and a little more school-spirited. After all, what have we got to lose?
Erin Clyburn is a sophomore English major. She can be reached at [email protected].