NOLASooner
Just passing though
First, thanks for letting a newbie (to this board) start a thread.
Disclaimer: I am a Sooner Born & Bred trapped in Tigerland. Though 99.2% of my friends are LSU fans, I am not. The reasons are unimportant; I just CAN NOT cheer for LSU, even though I have tried. It gives my LSU friends someone to razz. It's a role I play, but it IS type casting. :)
Take that into account if you decide to read on. I wish my OU Sooners were in the game, but they are not. I'm OK with it, and I'm not here to argue about that stuff.
I'm only trying to report honestly, for the benefit of Buckeye travelers, what I have personally experienced in 30 years of living as an "infidel" in Tiger Country.
THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
I've lived in New Orleans for 30 years; I love this city for its history, its beauty, its unique and inexpressible way of living, eating, & drinking. I hate it for its geography, filth, and laziness. People who live here understand the love-hate.
For visitors, the LSU fans posting here give excellent advice about what to see, do, & eat, etc. I'm taking notes.
All I add is GET OUT OF THE QUARTER some. If you stay there all the time, you cheat yourself. You owe it to yourselves and New Orleans to witness the devastation in Lakeview, Gentilly, the East, or the 9th Ward.
I think the "STREET CAR" (not "trolley" or "tram") will be running again on St. Charles Avenue. RIDE IT UPTOWN (i.e., up-river). Uptown New Orleans, including the Garden District and the area around Audubon Park and Tulane and Loyola Universities, is one of the most beautiful parts of ANY town you?ll ever see. Oak trees, beautiful houses and mansions - it?ll blow you away.
The uptown stretches of Magazine Street are alive with cool shops, bars, cafes, and restaurants.
A street car also goes up Canal St to Carrollton Ave, City Park, and the Museum of Art. Not as good as St Charles, but something.
LSU FANS
I have seen the good and the bad of LSU fans. At their best, they WILL display some truly awesome Louisiana hospitality. The best place to meet these folks is at their homes and with their families. But that's obviously not an option for most Buckeye travelers.
I can only really tell you where you are NOT likely to find the best LSU fans: On the streets of the French Quarter at night. That?s when most of the good ones are home or by their Mama's house, and the bad young 'uns are out drinking and getting rowdy.
Also, the BCS Game gives the "band-wagon" and "fair weather" LSU fans an excuse to come out to the Quarter to booze it up and act like jerks; they will. Just ask Sooner fans who came down in 2004. (I wore an OU shirt down there and was warmly invited to change my shirt, get the **** back where I came from, and to have sex with animals and close blood relatives.) I still hear from Sooners about how much they hate LSU, its fans, and unfortunately New Orleans, based solely on their experiences in the French Quarter. I warned them, too.
Beware also that even the nicer fans may talk a little talk smack (It's kinda the way Louisianans talk anyway - I do it after all these years.) It's generally just in fun, but not always. It may take some getting used to, and you will get tired of it . . . unless you WIN. (LSU fans are at their best when recovering from a loss.
)
Which brings up "TIGER BAIT." You will wish to be paid a dollar for each time you hear that taunt, because that would make you as wealthy as Gates & Buffett. It's no use trying to reason with LSU fans that "Tiger Bait" is nonsensical smack because tiger "bait" would seem to be BAD for the tiger. They like it; they say it ALL the time (probably because it's easy to remember ); they think it's deadly wit; and, to their credit, it is annoying.
Bottom line: Hope to meet and enjoy the good & gracious LSU fans, but don?t expect them all to be near so good. It could get ugly, and don't say you weren't warned.
THE GAME
You all can probably figure this one out better than I can. Do not kid yourself: This IS a home game for LSU. Tiger-baiters will outnumber you vastly on the streets of New Orleans and in the Dome. It may not be Tiger Stadium, but it will be a massive home field advantage for LSU.
My unsophisticated view of LSU football itself is that LSU is very talented, very tough, very determined, and will play hard, if not very smart, all the time. They deserve to be in this game as much as anybody. The only way to win is to match their intensity until the very end, or beyond.
This prolix post has probably irked a few LSU faithful. They hate it when Lousiana residents don't goose-step to the Tiger Rag. Well, I am what I am. Even though I don't share their love of LSU, I respect the quality of the program. But for the next month, I'd SOONER be a Buckeye !
Good Luck, Buckeyes! It's not going to be easy, but if you win, it'll all be worth it.
Disclaimer: I am a Sooner Born & Bred trapped in Tigerland. Though 99.2% of my friends are LSU fans, I am not. The reasons are unimportant; I just CAN NOT cheer for LSU, even though I have tried. It gives my LSU friends someone to razz. It's a role I play, but it IS type casting. :)
Take that into account if you decide to read on. I wish my OU Sooners were in the game, but they are not. I'm OK with it, and I'm not here to argue about that stuff.
I'm only trying to report honestly, for the benefit of Buckeye travelers, what I have personally experienced in 30 years of living as an "infidel" in Tiger Country.
THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
I've lived in New Orleans for 30 years; I love this city for its history, its beauty, its unique and inexpressible way of living, eating, & drinking. I hate it for its geography, filth, and laziness. People who live here understand the love-hate.
For visitors, the LSU fans posting here give excellent advice about what to see, do, & eat, etc. I'm taking notes.
All I add is GET OUT OF THE QUARTER some. If you stay there all the time, you cheat yourself. You owe it to yourselves and New Orleans to witness the devastation in Lakeview, Gentilly, the East, or the 9th Ward.
I think the "STREET CAR" (not "trolley" or "tram") will be running again on St. Charles Avenue. RIDE IT UPTOWN (i.e., up-river). Uptown New Orleans, including the Garden District and the area around Audubon Park and Tulane and Loyola Universities, is one of the most beautiful parts of ANY town you?ll ever see. Oak trees, beautiful houses and mansions - it?ll blow you away.
The uptown stretches of Magazine Street are alive with cool shops, bars, cafes, and restaurants.
A street car also goes up Canal St to Carrollton Ave, City Park, and the Museum of Art. Not as good as St Charles, but something.
LSU FANS
I have seen the good and the bad of LSU fans. At their best, they WILL display some truly awesome Louisiana hospitality. The best place to meet these folks is at their homes and with their families. But that's obviously not an option for most Buckeye travelers.
I can only really tell you where you are NOT likely to find the best LSU fans: On the streets of the French Quarter at night. That?s when most of the good ones are home or by their Mama's house, and the bad young 'uns are out drinking and getting rowdy.
Also, the BCS Game gives the "band-wagon" and "fair weather" LSU fans an excuse to come out to the Quarter to booze it up and act like jerks; they will. Just ask Sooner fans who came down in 2004. (I wore an OU shirt down there and was warmly invited to change my shirt, get the **** back where I came from, and to have sex with animals and close blood relatives.) I still hear from Sooners about how much they hate LSU, its fans, and unfortunately New Orleans, based solely on their experiences in the French Quarter. I warned them, too.
Beware also that even the nicer fans may talk a little talk smack (It's kinda the way Louisianans talk anyway - I do it after all these years.) It's generally just in fun, but not always. It may take some getting used to, and you will get tired of it . . . unless you WIN. (LSU fans are at their best when recovering from a loss.
)Which brings up "TIGER BAIT." You will wish to be paid a dollar for each time you hear that taunt, because that would make you as wealthy as Gates & Buffett. It's no use trying to reason with LSU fans that "Tiger Bait" is nonsensical smack because tiger "bait" would seem to be BAD for the tiger. They like it; they say it ALL the time (probably because it's easy to remember ); they think it's deadly wit; and, to their credit, it is annoying.
Bottom line: Hope to meet and enjoy the good & gracious LSU fans, but don?t expect them all to be near so good. It could get ugly, and don't say you weren't warned.
THE GAME
You all can probably figure this one out better than I can. Do not kid yourself: This IS a home game for LSU. Tiger-baiters will outnumber you vastly on the streets of New Orleans and in the Dome. It may not be Tiger Stadium, but it will be a massive home field advantage for LSU.
My unsophisticated view of LSU football itself is that LSU is very talented, very tough, very determined, and will play hard, if not very smart, all the time. They deserve to be in this game as much as anybody. The only way to win is to match their intensity until the very end, or beyond.
This prolix post has probably irked a few LSU faithful. They hate it when Lousiana residents don't goose-step to the Tiger Rag. Well, I am what I am. Even though I don't share their love of LSU, I respect the quality of the program. But for the next month, I'd SOONER be a Buckeye !
Good Luck, Buckeyes! It's not going to be easy, but if you win, it'll all be worth it.
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