Benjamin and I - Callin' Baton Rouge

Tricia was out of town at her high school reunion.  I was a bachelor at home, taking care of the animals.  I got a call from my Mom Friday night and she and Dad offered us two tickets to the LSU - Auburn Football Game.  Unfortunately, Russ had to work on Saturday and wasn't able to join us, but Benjamin and I headed east for an hour and got on our way to watch the Tigers play.

We woke up and milked the cows and then got on our way.  It was a cloudy, chilly morning as we crossed the Mighty Mississippi River at around 9:30 am.  On the western side of the bridge, if you roll your windows down, you can smell coffee beans roasting at the Community Coffee Plant.

We arrived on campus and parked at perhaps the farthest parking spot that existed on the eastern side of campus and walked toward all the action.  We crossed the Parade Grounds with a great view of Memorial Tower or the Campanile with Old Glory flying.  The tower is 175 feet tall and was built in 1923 as a memorial to Louisiana soldiers that died in World War I.

We walked by the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to Mike the Tiger's habitat.  Mike was pacing back and forth...

What a beautiful cat!

We heard that SEC Nation was set up across Nicholson Drive, so we wanted to go see what that was all about.  The live broadcast had Tim Tebow, Paul Finebaum, Marcus Spears, and Laura Rutledge reporting and interacting with a large crowd.  Below you can see Tim Tebow tossing footballs to the crowd. 

Benjamin and I walked back toward Tiger Stadium, grabbed a bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo and sat down to watch the sights and sounds of game day.  If you look at the facade of Tiger Stadium, you'll see a number of windows.  Odd.  There's an interesting story behind that.  In 1931 LSU needed more dormitory rooms.  Huey P. Long, the governor of Louisiana wanted to enlarge the football stadium.  It seemed to be a stalemate until it was decided that BOTH could win.  They built the dorm rooms INSIDE the stadium.  The windows you see are part of 430 rooms for 1,500 students.  After football games, students would often return to their rooms with things knocked off the walls and dressers from the noise and vibration of the big game.  No students actually live in the dorms in the stadium anymore, however.

A rare 'selfie' of Benjamin and me under the stately oaks on North Stadium Drive.

The football team walked down Victory Hill and Benjamin was able to give QB Joe Burrow a high five!  Then the Golden Band from Tigerland marched down the hill and played those four notes that makes Mike the Tiger stand right up and roar!  The crowd roared too!

The team went through pregame drills, met on the eye of the tiger and got ready for action!

We sang Louisiana Saturday Night and Callin' Baton Rouge and then the band played the Alma Mater and the National Anthem and we got ready for kickoff.

LSU won the game and improved our record to 8 - 0.  Benjamin and I had a great day together at the game!  Geaux Tigers!