LSU wrong on night game Ryan Callahan - Sports Editor Wednesday, September 14, 2005 issue Click here to print For once, a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium makes no sense. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, LSU moved its football home opener against Arizona State to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. In that instance, LSU administrators had no choice. With evacuees seeking shelter at the school’s campus, a home football game with more than 90,000 fans in attendance wouldn’t have been feasible. Less than two weeks from now, it’s going to be the same story. Yet with fifth-ranked Tennessee scheduled to visit Tiger Stadium Sept. 24 for a key SEC showdown, LSU isn’t budging. Not only will the game be played at Tiger Stadium, but officials insisted that the game be played at night, just the way ESPN had planned it months ago. ESPN had no qualms about taking a game with the ramifications of LSU-Tennessee, a potential matchup of two top-five teams. The TV network and the SEC verified Monday that the game would be played at 6:45 p.m. local time, much to the dismay of UT athletics director Mike Hamilton. Hamilton didn’t ask that the game be moved. He just wanted it to be played in the afternoon to allow fans time to safely travel out of the area and find a hotel. A home game for LSU, in many ways, would be a great thing for Louisiana residents. With many homes severely damaged and lives turned upside-down, a football game could provide some sense of normalcy during a chaotic time. But a game of this magnitude being played at night is just going to get in the way. Even for a school that brings a caged tiger to every home game, the campus is a zoo. Baton Rouge’s population has roughly doubled since Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. What this means is that traffic on game day will be unbearable, and a hotel might not be found for hundreds of miles. Considering that it’s a night game, fans might have to pull an all-nighter and drive all the way back to Tennessee. And the school won’t consider refunding tickets purchased months ago by UT fans. Right now, LSU can’t even guarantee hotel rooms for UT’s players. They might have to settle for somewhere within a 100-mile radius or, better yet, fly down on the day of the game and jump back on a plane as soon as it’s over. Sound like a headache? It is — for players, fans and media alike. And for what? So LSU can keep alive its tradition of playing home games at night? LSU athletics director Skip Bertman should be congratulated. He got his home-field advantage. And the Tigers now have a better chance of winning the game. But in a position to do the right thing during a time of crisis, LSU lost. — Ryan Callahan is the sports editor of The Daily Beacon. He can be reached at [email protected].
sorry a trip to play at night in Death Valley (that's right, I called it Death Valley) is so inconvenient for the Tennessee players and fans. if that is the case, I have a suggestion for you...FORFEIT! I will email this punk writer the same opinion. MT out :thumb:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: Interestingly enough, that's not just some sports editor from a newspaper in Knoxville, but rather the sports editor for the STUDENT newspaper. Gee, he's not biased. What a baby. As for flying back the night of the game? NFL teams don't seem to have a problem getting it done.
LSU lost in a position to do the right thing during a time of crisis??? What about taking in thousands of evacuees & caring for them & their health here at LSU? What about all of the businesses, including many New Orleans media affiliates, to use our campus as a base of communications? What about taking in thousands of students from New Orleans schools? This guy is a joke.
Theme music for this story: "Cry me a River" If the TN fans can't make it to the game I'd think that they would have no trouble selling their tickets on ebay to some happy TigerFans. Also, if the game is played at night I would think it would give them more time to get to the stadium no matter where they got a hotel.
Someoen email him and point out this is untrue. Also they argue that their fans will also have to drive all night to get home. HELLLLLOOOO!! Knoxville is still like 11 hours away. If it were an afternoon game, they would get home at 5-6am instead of noonish. It's an all nighter either way! Basically they wanted to dictate where and when the game is played. First they wnated it at UT. NO, Sorry. So then they request it be a day game. NO, Sorry again. On a brighter note, traffic has been MUCH better the past few days here in BR. I cna't wait for this game!
Know what i love about biassed reporters. It's their ability to completyly overlook key facts that derail their entire arguement that gives me that warm and tingly feeling. LSU has said that they will take care of UT personel (that includes players, coaches and anyone else need to play the game). The worst thing about this game is the lodging of the fans. :bncry: :bncry: :bncry: :cry: :cry: :cry: Somebody grab this fool a tissue. So what if their fans have to drive a few hours to get a hotel room, at least all of them have homes to go back to.....even if it just a trailer home parked in the local dumpster.
here is my email to the student editor. waiting a timely response......... Wow…a lot of crying going on over this. I especially liked this part: LSU athletics director Skip Bertman should be congratulated. He got his home-field advantage. And the Tigers now have a better chance of winning the game. This is the typical whining and crying the rest of the SEC has come to expect from Tennessee and their faithful. Guess it would have been much more fair and easier for Tennessee to pressure LSU into making them play the game at Neyland Stadium and call it a home game for LSU. Grow up….and have fun in Tiger Stadium on 9/24/2005. Jeremy
You think this guy's a whiner! Ever watch Fat Phil get punked by a bad call when he knows it WAS a bad call. I've got a clip of him going bananas! Oh, man, it's hilarious. And he gets penalized for verbally abusing the referees too.
