LSU and it "aint" even close... LSU's roster is full of kids from the state, there are a just a few on the Saints. The Saints owner just tried to move the team after Katrina...what a connection to a city. BS. Just look at Tiger Stadium after Katrina for each of the teams that played there. Where there any Saints fans there a night after the Tigers were sold out.....uh, no. By admission I am a Cowboys fan, but don't HATE the Saints, just the all of a sudden Saints fans. Go Joe Addai, that's who I will be cheering this Sunday. I can't wait to read about Spring Football later this month, Geaux Tigers!
I consider myself a die-hard LSU fans and a casual to mildly obsessive Saints fan. I've been a fan of both since birth. the thing about the Saints is that they have been loser for so long that to get worked up about it would have killed most of us by now. LSU on the other has enjoyed success on some level ever since i was born. When 1 sport is down, usually some other sport picks up the slack. Also have more than one sport at LSU makes it easier to dive into. You are always following something LSU. That said, I think that LA has a bigger LSU fan-base because it's the flagship of the state and has been before the Saints came into existence. Also, I still think Northern Louisiana loves the Cowboys.
It's LSU by far...just look at all of the fan gear when you are out and it is all LSU. Saints took off after the Katrina year and made up some ground but since LSU has had success in various sports over the years it easily out paces the one sport Saints. Not the closer you get to New Orleans it sways big time but overall...LSU hands down.
I made a modification for accuracy. I lived in Monroe my entire life and never missed a Saints pre-season game, much less a regular season game. The thing is that in Monroe, you have ULM fans who are Saints fans. In Ruston you have LaTech fans who are Saints fans. In Lafayette you have ULL fans who are Saints fans. Some of these same fans are LSU fans as well, but many are not. In New Orleans you have a few LSU fans, but all Saints fans. In Baton Rouge you have all LSU fans and over half are Saints fans. Shreveport is a solid 50/50 Saints/Cowboys fans thanks to the owner of the Fox station being a rabid Cowboys fan, Jerry Jones marketing in S'port fervently and Tom Benson ignoring the market for years. I know the title says "in LA", but the Saints also have appeal to the Gulf Coast states and LSU does not. Strictly going by population, you're going to have more Saints fans than LSU fans. What to wear is usually determined by who's winning for either team, unless you're living in New Orleans or Baton Rouge.
I disagree...when you visit the "Redneck Riviera" it is nearly all LSU stuff you see unless it is only Baton Rougeans who are frequenting the Gulf Coast. You wear your loyalties or stick it to your car and by far, when traveling, you see a lot more LSU than Saints. Same can be said about your college loyalties...Tech fans are LSU fans, Rajun Cajun fans are LSU fans and so on... LSU attracts 94000 into Tiger Stadium and at least that many more outside during football season. The Superdome holds 72000 for football and maybe 20-30,000 outside for games. No contest...
I think the Saints have a much larger footprint across Louisiana and the gulf coast. While LSU has fans everywhere, each college town through these areas have their own fans. Heck, even here in Baton Rouge there is a section of fans purely for Southern. This just happens to be one of the few years that the Saints are something to cheer about so the closet fans are coming out of the woodwork. Then again, the Saints are just one sport.
My first sports memories were of Dalton Hilliard tearing it up at LSU and relatives bashing the Saints for their misery. When Hilliard was drafted by the Saints, they almost instantly became good. That '87 season for the Saints was magical and both LSU football and the Saints have been far ahead of any other team/sport for me in terms of pure passion. Even though there is not a 2nd big college program in the state, there is still a lot of anti-LSU sentiment in various parts of the state. The Saints also have the part of the population that has few (or no) family members that attend college. On the other hand, Shreveport is split between the Saints and Cowboys. Louisiana natives are used to having a bit of an inferiority complex (including me a little) when other states (such as TX) put down our people. LSU has also been a great source of pride, even prior to this decade's excellence. The Saints have always seemed a bit cursed but this season almost seems divine. It's as if the 42 years of bad breaks are evening out in one short year.
I agree with this thought, but not because the Saints are bigger than LSU. More because I've always felt LSU could have a decade like this one. Even in the 90's. DiNardo even gave us a tease of what was possible. I mean, even in our darkest time, I always felt like we weren't far away from making some serious noise. The Saints on the other hand, well, lets just say most of this state really and truly believed this day would never come. I don't they ever actually considered a Super Bowl trip a real possibility. Kinda like winning the lottery. Yeah, you hope you hit the jackpot, but in reality, your stoked if you win $5 for getting 4 numbers correct.
