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LSU’s fans are livid, and they haven’t even had a chance to sink their teeth into Saturday night’s all-important showdown against rival Alabama at Death Valley.
This anger has nothing to do with anything on the field, at least football-wise. It has everything to do with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry confirming earlier this week that a live tiger would be brought onto the field at Tiger Stadium for Saturday night’s game. It will be the first time in almost 10 years that the tradition will take place in Baton Rouge.
A redditor on r/LSU has posted some photos of a live tiger in a rolling cage on the field at Tiger Stadium. Posing with him is John Walters, #LSU VP of External Affairs, who reportedly has been in meetings with @LAGovJeffLandry’s team about the tiger #lalege #lagov pic.twitter.com/Y6x9Hv3mbd
— Piper Hutchinson (@ByPiperHutch) November 9, 2024
“Our hope is that maybe we can get this tiger to roar a couple of times,” Landry told FOX News on Friday. “And that’ll indicate how many touchdowns we’ll have.”
Well, many LSU fans and others aren’t having it. Not in the least.
I like how the LSU community is all collectively coming together to talk about how much of a dumbass Jeff Landry is by bringing that Tiger to Louisiana
— Not Ryan Theriot (@not_theriot) November 9, 2024
forcing a live tiger to go to a college football game with 102,000 spectators and using taxpayer money to ship it in from florida is animal abuse and disgusting @JeffLandry @LSU
— allie (@iibypilots) November 8, 2024
The issues I have with this:
-It’s not Mike
-Gov. Landry went out his way to do this after LSU’s vets said they didn't want Mike in the stadium
-It’s a distraction from the actual game
-No one said how this is paid for
-Gov. Landry touts tradition when he’s not even an LSU grad https://t.co/qEJs4XKTQQ— Farrah Yvette (@farrah_yvette) November 9, 2024
https://twitter.com/geoffschwartz/status/1855309785677042007
The dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!! We don’t need the antics for this game. https://t.co/a4F8mmzbhm
— Brandon Taylor (@Brandon18Taylor) November 9, 2024
Literally nobody wants this @JeffLandry is a clown
Hope that poor Tiger doesn’t get traumatized too much https://t.co/E7YPn6WyIi
— 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 (@BamPlzShoot) November 9, 2024
https://twitter.com/BlueBarronPhoto/status/1855300327173497237
Not only are LSU fans all fired up, for the wrong reasons, about this idea, but it’s getting a rise out of Alabama fans, too.
Yeah run the score up @KalenDeBoer https://t.co/n9AFr0sysu
— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) November 9, 2024
And if that’s not enough, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) chimed in, asking LSU to “grow a spine” and say no to all this.
ESPN’s Peter Burns couldn’t stay quiet about this, either.
“I’m going to withhold judgment until I see the final presentation … but my early gut feeling is that (this is) quite possibly the lamest idea in the history of modern civilization,” tweeted Burns.
I'm going to withhold judgement until I see the final presentation…….but my early gut feeling is that is quite possibly the lamest idea is the history of modern civilization. https://t.co/Hyu7rm4X9u
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) November 9, 2024
How it all plays out on Saturday night should be interesting, to say the least. And, by the way, there’s the actual game that carries huge College Football Playoff implications, too.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
