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Who’s afraid of LSU’s Mike the Tiger? Apparently not Alabama’s Arie Kouandjio
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Whenever the University of Alabama football team visits LSU there are always things that the players who have been there before warn their teammates about.
That includes the crazy crowd, the noise, and the home team parking a live tiger in a cage right outside of the visiting locker room.
On Monday, Crimson Tide senior guard Arie Kouandjio had a very different take on “Mike the Tiger.”
“I’m not afraid of tigers,” he deadpanned.
“Things happen all the time, right. Tiger’s going to get me, a tiger’s going to get me.”
It should be noted that Kouandjio was born in the African nation of Cameroon and moved to the United States with his family when he was about 5.
Kouandjio was asked if he’d ever been around a tiger before — “Yeah, sure” — and if he had ever owned one — “I wish.” (Note: Tigers are not indigenous to Africa, but lions are).
As for what Kouandjio is afraid of, he responded: “Not reaching my full potential. Sometimes the dark.”
Alabama visits LSU on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, LSU). The Tigers are 236-62-4 (.788) in home games played at night, and 21-2 since 2010.
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
