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!

Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum

In a state with quite a few, let's say "colorful" governors, Huey P. Long is right up there at the top.  I can still remember vividly being a small child and going on a field trip to the State Capitol and seeing a bullet hole in the wall from when Huey P. Long was assassinated.

THIS LINK gives some interesting information about the old governor.  Here are some of the more interesting ones:

As part of his state modernization program, Huey Long tripled the size of Louisiana State University (LSU), opening enrollment to all able poor students and building it into one of the finest universities in the South.

In 1928, LSU was a small-time country school that generated little interest or attention in the state. Labeled a “third-rate” institution by the Association of State Universities, the school had only 1800 students, 168 faculty members, and an annual operating budget of $800,000.

In 1930, Huey Long initiated a massive building program on campus to expand the physical plant and add departments. By 1936, LSU had the finest facilities in the South, a top-notch faculty of 394 professors, a new medical school, more than 6,000 students, and a winning football team. In only eight years, it had risen in size from 88th in the nation to 20th, and it was the 11th largest state university in the nation.

To generate excitement for LSU, Long’s first step was to quadruple the size of the marching band (from 28 to 125) and develop a first-rate football team. He became the state’s most prominent ‘Tiger fan’ – coaching plays, giving locker room pep talks and personally recruiting top talent for the team. LSU fever swept the state, as reduced tuition and need-based scholarships allowed students from all regions to flock to Baton Rouge to study.

The photo below shows the governor marching with the band!  If you click the link above, you can read an interesting story about what he did about a circus train and also how he got the entire student body to go to Nashville to cheer the Tigers on to victory against Vanderbilt University in 1934.

Image Credit

A few weeks ago I took Benjamin and a friend of his to an LSU football game.  It was Homecoming and the Tigers really stunk up the place, losing to a team that they shouldn't have lost to.  Many of the fans exited early, but we didn't.  On the bright side, the Golden Band from Tigerland put on the best performance on the field that night, complete with a marching Tiger...

The State of Louisiana with a star marking where Baton Rouge is...

And finally spelling out Louisiana in cursive.  (I thought they don't teach cursive anymore?)...

The band was the bright spot on the night, although I didn't see the current governor marching with the band!