For the past 5 years I lived in Baton Rouge and eventually went back to school and graduated this past spring. I've been an LSU fan all my life being from Lake Charles I lived down the road a bit but if you live in Louisiana there's a pretty good chance you're an LSU fan. Here in Lake Charles there is a pretty decent 1-AA team the McNeese Cowboys which is ok to watch... well pretty much because they have a playoff system in 1-AA. I moved back here after graduation but have been making frequent trips back to BR because i truly do miss the game day atmosphere down there. Here's the thing... with LSU out of town this week and McNeese having a home game I decided to tailgate with the hometown crowd and watch the LSU game. Now I truly bleed purple and gold and have no affiliation to McNeese other than it being my hometown college. Here I am in all of my LSU best while every body around me is wearing the local colors and starting to file into the stadium as the game is about to start. I have absolutely no intentions of going any where until the LSU game is over. As i'm watching my tv about 50 other people gather around me and start watching the over time period as well. Kids are in wonderment to why i'm losing my cool and sweating while watching TV. At no point did I ever even give thought to the chance of losing to Kentucky... not after that incredible game against Florida last week. That's where it all went wrong I had so much faith so much confidence that when that last ridiculous play was over with... it seemed as if it wasn't real and hadn't happened. Once it actually sunk in that they in fact did lose... i literally felt my body go numb and my knees go weak like the love of my life just broke up with me.... Here's my problem when I lived in Baton Rouge that city revolved around LSU football and no matter who you were... man or woman... young or old... you had a love for LSU football. I'm here in Lake Charles and it's not exactly the same. After the game was over the people that had surrounded me and the TV all filtered back into Cowboy stadium... and I am still there standing in dis-belief and at this point have absolutely no intentions of going to the game... and truly nobody there to grieve with me and help me get through this difficult time. Why do i physically feel this pain?
It will be fine. This was a painful loss, but also a wakeup call. Most folks have short memories and winning just makes it worse. The past few weekends the writing has been on the wall, and it is possible that losing was the best thing possible for this team. I am of the belief that everything happens for a reason, and this loss will be a true test to the heart of our football team. Champions respond favorably. Believe me, you aren't alone in the way you feel. I'm living in Florida, so while this last week was pretty good, I'll be living through the ribbing this week. I'll be pulling for Kentucky next weekend. But what I'm most interested in is seeing if Miles can get this team playing like the number 1 team again. Like the team is facing a gut check, so are fans. Are you here for the glory, or are you here for the love of LSU? How we react will go a long way in defining what kind of support this team really has. Next weekend: home against Auburn. No more talk of a NC, if Michigan will steal Miles, how bad we will beat team x, etc. If we don't get our heads right it could be a long season. If we don't get our heads right, how are we better than any other fanbase? :geauxtige
I'm just not sure that i am of the same belief that a loss is what is needed to shake things up and right the ship. A team with the heart of a champion doesn't just mail it in like they have a few times this year. I don't even wanna say this... but it just seems like the intensity is there. There was so much on the line... but as a team you play for your pride and respect and tonight I don't think they get to have any of that.
No doubt we didn't play up to our capabilities. This loss is a tough blow. But the kids that play are kids, and they are subject to the atmosphere they live in. Most fans, mature and not, paid little respect to Kentucky - perhaps lip service, but not so much respect. I agree it hurts, but this loss was to a top 25 team (likely top 10-15 after this weekend). As fans we may expect perfection, but as the cliché goes, our team puts their pants on just like the rest of us. If you want to expect perfection, that is your prerogative. I ain't gonna lie, that loss yesterday kinda ruined the day for me. But if you aren't going to stand up to the challenge and stand behind your team in good times and bad, you should wonder what sets you (and the fan base we like to brag about) apart from that of any other team. Feel free to vent though. I'll even join in. Pelini and Crowton looked like mere mortals, our passing attack was pathetic, Miles may have been over confident, and our d was gashed by a team that didn't back down to the hype. We've been looking less than impressive for the past few weeks and really don't deserve the #1 ranking anymore. If we would have managed a win tonight, our team still wouldn't have their heads right. All the complaints heard tonight would be abandoned because "a win shouldn't be criticized." If things would have continued the way they were continuing, we would have lost later in the season and we would have had less time to right the ship. And now we get to see how this team responds to real adversity.
I am in no way not standing behind the team... that was never even a thought. I just wanted to say i was disappointed... and a lot of us "fans" hang on to common cliche's that really either become robotic response excuses that really actually have no play in what actually happened. I wanna provoke a little bit of thought into this conversation and in response to one of the statements you made... What kind of coach is completely satasfied week in and week out with the play of his team? I'm not saying I have ever expected perfection. What I do expect that is the pursuit of perfection... and if the teams mantra has now become "well... it was good enough" well that's just not good enough for me I saw them give every thing they had in the 2nd half of last weeks game against Florida... but i haven't seen much of that team this year
I don't mean to be too preachy. I know this loss hurts. Miles gets some of the blame, but I don't think he did a bad job today. It was really a team loss, and despite playing like crap we weren't too far from pulling out another win. I won't be calling Miles out yet. I don't think he's satisfied with mediocre play.
Lets hope not... and i'm not really mad at Miles b/c as you said truly... we were close to pulling that one out. I'm not talking about nit-picking play calls... just plain and simple preparation. That's the difference between champions and every body else... who out works who
Welcome to life. Anybody can out perform anyone on any given day. Our guys had the chance to do that yesterday and lost in triple OT on another teams field. Nothing should be taken from the coaches and fans of Kentucky. They won the game fair and square. The beauty of this season it that it is not over. There is still a lot of football. The identity of this team is still being determined. I'm looking forward to seeing who the 2007 Tigers are going to be. I would not like to be Auburn next week.
I think its ok to criticize a win, but if we win, be balanced and recognize what went well also. I have not been into the hype of our defense, and I've said so 3 or 4 weeks ago. We had some gaudy stats, but we weren't playing against better than high school offenses early in the season. Didn''t Miss St. and Va Tech make permanent QB changes after playing us, and SC as well? We didn't see their best offenses. Blame their coaches for not figuring it out in summer camp. Pelini went with a vanilla pass rush, Ky handled it, and Ky's receivers beat our secondary. It's on the kids, but its on Bo also.
