There is nowhere like the LSU campus on a game day. The aroma of booze, smoke, and every cajun food imaginable will be all you smell until you are home. Even when you leave campus, the heavenly smells of game day will still linger in your clothes. The opposing fans will undoubtedly receive numerous "Tiger Bait" jeers throughout their day. Drive-thru daiquiri stores open around 9 AM and will have a steady line of cars all day waiting for their drinks.
I grew up in Baton Rouge and have fallen in love with the rough and tumble atmosphere of LSU football. My dad took me tailgating with him all of my life. I also grew up watching my grandfather curse at the TV when LSU was playing good or bad. I was born into bleeding purple and gold, that's for sure.
Let's talk food. There is no place in the World with better food than Louisiana. All of the different styles of cooking cajun food meet in Baton Rouge about seven times each fall. You can find alligator, boudin, shrimp, oysters, jambalaya, red beans, gumbo, steaks, ribs, burgers, and hundreds of other things cooking at one of the innumerable tailgating sights. I have seen pigs being roasted in the newly marketed"Cajun Microwaves." Anybody from any other state would call this a pig roast, but down here it is known as a Cochon de Lait. That is Cajun French for Pig in Milk or Suckling Pig. Half the things on the above list are extremely foreign to every other state in America, and they have no idea that these food items even exist. We have the most diverse and delicious food of any tailgating crews in the country.
Alcohol is equally, if not more important, than food down here. Every game day one of my buddies says, "You can't drink all day if you don't start early in the morning." If you think having a beer before 5 is not okay, then what happens down here would rock your world. Friday night, all the fans go out and have a wild time in the excitement and anticipation for the game the next day. Most of these partiers have to get up early the next morning to start cooking or setting up a tailgating site. How do you get rid of the aches from the night before? Keep drinking. There are full blown bars at the majority of tailgating sights. They have Bloody Mary, Mimosa, and Screwdriver fixings out before 9. At around 11 the ice chests of beer come out, along with the liquor of choice at LSU, which is bourbon. A few things like gin, whiskey, rum, and tequila might make the table as well. As the sun starts setting, the wine,and scotch come out to complete a day full of drinking and eating.
The fans themselves are perhaps the most interesting thing about LSU football. There are no moral victories down here. A loss is a loss, no matter how well we played. LSU fans even find ways to be mad after a win. As an opposing fan you need to know how to act while on campus. If you take "Tiger Bait" harassment well and are friendly, LSU fans will treat you like family. On the other hand, if you walk into campus looking for a fight, you will get one. I have seen more than one person knocked out over a football argument. You reep what you sow down here. Yes, we boo our own players and coach. Is it terrible? It might be, but it is different. We expect to win every game. Everyone loves to win. The big difference down here is that LSU fans hate to lose more than they love to win. Football is more than a game down here. Football is life. Football is the topic of conversation from the spring game all the way to the end of the season. On sunday, many pastors open up their sermon with a quick recap or joke about the game the night before. Everyone is hooked.
If you haven't experienced Death Valley on a Saturday night, do it. Even if you are not an LSU fan, I guarantee you won't forget it. If you are going to do it, do it right. Get to campus early, call that friend you might not know that well that has a tailgate and invite yourself. I assure you that they will welcome you with open arms. Eat the food that you have never heard of, and if you want to remember the game, don't go drink for drink with these crazy cajuns. LSU football is one of a kind and it will always have a large piece of my heart.
This picture was taken by me from the student section in 2012. I had to get in line 4 hours before the gates opened to get these great seats!
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