Does anyone have any clue how long each stage of the retirement process lasts? With that weak home schedule its understandable.:wink: I am glad he will be able to witness the excitement of the home slate next year. Mike is the 3rd oldest of the 5 Tigers and none have lived past the age of 19. LINK
What did they do with the bodies of previous Mikes? With the brand new habitat they built for Mike, I would love to see LSU start burying them adjacent to the habitat overlooking Tiger Stadium. I was at Texas A&M this summer, and I loved how they buried previous Reveilles right outside the gates of Kyle field so they could "keep watch." I think all LSU fans would love some sort of permanent set up on campus...because everyone can agree that Mike's true place should be on LSU's campus -- in life and death! :tigerhead :geauxtige
Mike I was mounted and you can see him in the LSU Natural History Museum. I have no idea about the whereabouts of Mikes II-IV.
There'd need to be some sort of security measures for the cemetary...don't want anyone digging them up.
It sounds like the right thing to do is let him stay in his current home rather than move him somewhere. I remember seeing him when he was pretty young so I guess that would've been in 1990. That means his tenure produced all those baseball :tigbas: :champs: championships, the football:helmet: :crystal: championship with THREE Sugar Bowl wins and other legendary moments, dominanting track & field, and a college basketball program that began with Shaq and maybe allowed Mike V to finally "retire" now that he saw a Final Four appearance. My idea wasn't exactly original but like many other LSU fans, I had to make sure he was my witness when I proposed to my wife back in 2000. He didn't roar when I asked if he objected to being a witness so I took that as a good sign.
Seems it would be risky moving an older Tiger into a new habitat. Surely there is room somewhere to develop a secondary habitat for the successor to live in until the time comes. He could then be visible, but not upset the life of the current Mike. Our War Eagle is retiring because of cancer, but the care and respect must be maintained. These mascots are more than symbols, they are the embodiment of what our schools are about. If we can't take care of them, we do not deserve the spirit that they share with us.
I thought the Reveille thing was the dumbest thing ever. Dead dogs watching the score of football games? Before they had the scoreboard outside the stadium (built for the dead dogs), an Aggie would stand above the graves with a chalk-board with the score on it.
Before Mike IV was layed down he was able to enjoy the new cat habitat at the Baton Rouge Zoo. It is actually quite a nice place. Funny story involving IV. When I was an apprentice electrician I was working for BREC and we were doing some wiring at the zoo when an announcement came over the loud speaker that a tiger had gotten loose from his cage and everyone should get inside until he was caught. It was early afternoon on a weekday so there were not many people in the zoo at the time but as we were sitting in our truck a father and his son walked by and we told them the tiger was loose and they should get inside the concession stand. The dad looked at us funny and said, "Well we just passed a tiger over there and he walked right by us. We thought he was supposed to be out". Turned out it was Mike. He also got out of his cage in the 80's and went trotting down Nicholson with some early morning joggers. A Houdini he was...
