Anywhere is better than here, now. I haven't felt like this following a game since LSU lost to UGA with Champ Bailey and Quincy Carter. LSU lucked into a a three touchdown lead, and I didn't realise it until the second half. LSU was dominated at position except defensive line run stopping. LSU couldn't get significant pressure on the quarterback when it counted, LSU couldn't get a defensive stop on third down the entire second half, LSU couldn't get quality run blocking when it counted and LSU couldn't stop Rick Clausen. You've done it, vols. You've beaten me. I told my friend after the game that I'm going to take a five year sabatical from LSU football games. I'll watch them, I may even go to baton rouge for a party or two, but I refuse to go into tiger stadium for football competition. Its not that I don't like the LSU players. I love them. I wish I could thank them every day for taking our State's banner and waving it proudly. No, its the fans. LSU fans have gotten spoiled and uninterested. I paid $60 for a pair of tickets. I gave one to a friend of mine (a fellow new orleans evacuee, attending LSU) who isn't very familiar with football. The money I spent was wasted. I was yelled at for standing with the scored tied at 24. I was cursed for telling people around me not to boo when we're leading by three touchdowns. No, I enjoyed Tiger STadium a lot better when we weren't supposed to win but we did anyway. Or hell, when we weren't supposed to win and we lost. The season which encapsolated the most fun experiences for me were in 1999. The games that stick out the most were the loss to Florida in the freezing rain (after which I got the flu) and the post thanksgiving surprise win over Arkansas. Those were fun days. Today's LSU fan is callous and cruel. He expects to win by three touchdowns and if he doesn't he boos at halftime. He expects the best but doesn't put out the best himself. Tonight when Rick Clausen (who audibles more than any qb I've ever seen play in person) was in the huddle LSU fans didn't yell, you could hear the distant roar of oil refineries. LSU fans didn't yell until Clausen was under center, and even then it was halfhearted and uninterested until third down. No, I'm ashamed of my fellow LSU fans and I see where fans of other schools come from when they talk about us. We don't smell like corndogs, we haven't been lighting any vans on fire, but we have been forgettful of what LSU football is about. Passion. Love. Pride. I'm too passionate about my LSU football memories to tarnish them with contemporary fans. See you kickoff against USC in 2011. Hopefully we're unranked and proud as hell. Not because our team is talented or we have an excellent senior quarterback. But because we're LSU. This is where I'm at right now. Go Tigers. Beat State.
