A Return to Glory

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 in Omaha, Nebraska. For LSU Tiger baseball fans this day is one we will never forget. The unhappy memories of the recent troubled past disappeared in nine innings of baseball in Rosenblatt Stadium. Coach Paul Mainieri and his Tigers won a sixth national title. Now emblazoned in College Baseball history are the images of Lewis Coleman throwing a final strike that signified LSU’s return to baseball glory.

Before the pitch, before the pile on the mound, before the flag was raised, college baseball’s greatest fans believed. It didn’t matter where you were in town, if you talked about LSU baseball the feeling was always the same. No one talked about if the Tigers would win another National Title; they all talked about when the Tigers would win another National Title.

When Paul Mainieri was hired as the head coach of the Tiger baseball team, he made a promise to the fans. “Make no mistake about it,” he said. “The goal is to return LSU to the pinnacle position in college baseball. I have all the confidence in the world that we can do that here.” In just three short years, Mainieri made good on his promise. The Tigers were able to finish the year exactly where they had started, ranked No.1.

For all of you that may not be avid LSU Baseball fans, let me explain something. Just like Alabama and football, Kentucky and basketball, LSU is synonymous with baseball. Yes, I know some of you are shaking your heads and saying, “Wait! Football is the number one sport at LSU.” I understand that fact and I am in no way disputing it, but coming in a very close second is LSU baseball. There is a reason why we have led the nation in total attendance for the last 14 straight seasons. We are college baseball’s greatest fans.

In the 1990’s, LSU changed the game of college baseball. Under legendary coach Skip Bertman, the Tigers were able to bring home five College World Series championships, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000 and were easily the team of the decade. LSU ascended into the elite class of college baseball programs. Our boys were bigger, faster and stronger than any other team and were able to dominate the baseball world. “Gorilla Ball” is a phrase that was created to talk about the big bats that LSU brought to every game. In 1997, the Tigers hit 188 homeruns, shattering the old record of 161 set by BYU in 1988. Hitting a homerun for an LSU baseball player was as common as houndstooth hats on game day in Tuscaloosa. Bertman won 870 games while leading LSU to 7 SEC titles and 11 CWS appearances. His teams averaged 48 wins per year, and only failed to make the postseason twice during his 18 year career.

With Bertman’s retirement after the 2001 season, LSU baseball lost some of its moxie. From 2002-2006 LSU played host to a regional, three super regionals, and made it to Omaha twice where they went 0-2 both trips. For average college baseball programs, this would have been acceptable. But this was LSU, and average was not enough. The Gorilla Ball we were known for had faded, and big wins over big teams were few and far between. The trip to Omaha which had become the norm and was expected quickly became a wish the team couldn’t deliver. Fans could feel the title of elite college program slipping away. Yet, through all this, attendance was still the highest in the nation proving the idea of being on top was in the back of every fan’s mind.

Paul Mainieri breathed life back into the LSU program. Suddenly we are elite again and Omaha is expected every year. Last season, the Tigers made their way to the Heartland of America with one goal: a return to glory. Fans arrived in droves bringing purple and gold beads, cold beer and good food with them. Signs stating “Gorilla Ball is Back!” could be seen all over Omaha. Beating Arkansas in the semi-finals, LSU moved on the face the Texas Longhorns in a best-of-three series for the championship. The Tigers won game one 8-7 in a dramatic comeback win in 11 innings. The Longhorns beat the Tigers in game two 5-1, to force a third and final game. The Tigers out-slugged the Longhorns 11-4 to win their 6th National Championship and first since 2000. The legendary program of LSU is back on top.

So we begin the 2010 season with LSU ranked No.2. This roster is arguably the best in country and many believe better than last year. So, what do Tiger fans expect? That’s easy, a trip to Omaha, the destination for so many but reached by so few. This year Rosenblatt Stadium will host its final championship series and I think it would be fitting if the Tigers took the field.

If you have never been a fan of LSU baseball this is a perfect time to jump on the bandwagon and join college baseball’s greatest fans. I promise you it will be a hell of a ride.

“…When you guys play to the best of your ability nobody in the country can beat you.” –LSU Coach Paul Mainieri, prior to the 1st game vs. Texas of the 2009 CWS Championship Series

This is Part I in a three part series about the return of three legendary SEC programs.

AMEN! Saints March to Super Bowl Win!

OMG! HOLY CRAP! Hell has frozen over. Pigs have flown. WHO DAT BABY?! SAINTS WIN!

Now that I have all of that out of my system, I want to tell you about my Super Bowl experience. I made the trip down to New Orleans to watch the game with friends and to be part of history. We arrived on Saturday morning the city was the craziest I have ever seen it (this includes Mardi Gras). People were everywhere, decked out in Saints gear. There was an energy in New Orleans; Saints fans knew we were going to win.

The pre-game video about the team, Drew Brees and New Orleans evoked more emotion than I thought would be possible. I think outsiders often forget that not only have people residing on the Gulf Coast heard the story of hurricane Katrina, we lived it. So as you can imagine I was not excited to see another sad mini- documentary, but this was different. For once a piece about the city after the hurricane was about the positive progress we have made such as schools being rebuilt, people moving home, and all the good work that Drew Brees has been a part of. What Drew and his wife, Brittany, have done for the people of New Orleans is something we will never be able to repay. They love our city, our state, our home almost as much as the natives! All I can say is thank you Drew and Brittany for helping to bring us back to life.

On that note, please understand, this season, this team and this game are not about Katrina. The 2006 Saints were about Katrina. That team gave a region what it needed most in one of its darkest times. They allowed us to hope again. This team, the 2009 New Orleans Saints are about something very different. They are about fan base that has stood by a mediocre team for 43 years. I will now get off my soap box.

There was magic in the dome from the very first kickoff of the season. This magic carried not just the team but all of the Who Dat Nation through the season in a way that most of us had only dreamed about. Starting the season perfect at 13-0, this Saints team was able to win by every way possible. They won with offense, they won with defense, they won with the running game, the passing game and even with special teams. All the while giving fans a few highlights they will never forget.

We all know about Drew Brees and his unbelievable passer rating of 109.6, Darren Sharper’s nine interceptions, and Reggie Bush’s high flying touchdown leaps. We watched as Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith and Roman Harper made it difficult for opposing offenses to find a rhythm and for rookie quarterbacks to stay on their feet. The Saints combined for 64 touchdowns for the season with ten different players catching passes for touchdowns and six different players rushing for touchdowns. Jeremy Shockey, Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas and Devery Henderson made us stand up, scream and high-five as they drove the offense down the field. We all held our breath as Garrett Hartley kicked what will now be the most famous field goal in Saints history.

Fans screamed from the moment the team took the field till the early morning hours of the next day. You could hear “Who Dat” echoing into the night.

The Super Bowl got off to a rocky start for the Saints, down by ten, but the fans never lost faith. We knew this was our team’s night and the magic that had carried the Saints through the season would not let us down. There was not a dry eye in the house as the final seconds ticked away in Super Bowl XLIV. The dream was complete and our beloved misfit team had done the unthinkable. The Saints had won the Super Bowl. The demons of old are gone. The spirits that had been haunting the Super Dome for so many years have finally been put to rest.

The game itself was so much more than I could have ever asked for. Sean Payton's play calling will be remembered as one of the greatest coaching jobs in Super Bowl history. Risky plays payed off and it was clear that the Saint's magic would not be denied. To beat the Indianapolis Colts by two touchdowns left no doubt who was the better team and finally quieted the naysayers. We belonged there and we proved it. The Super Bowl victory was a perfect ending to an incredible story; a story that I will be sharing with my children and grandchildren someday. I can say I was a part of the magic.

Have the Tiger Faithful Lost Their Faith?

First of all, I am an LSU fan to the core. I was basically raised in Tiger Stadium, I bleed purple and gold and I name some of my pets after football players. I will support the team no matter what happens. I feel the need to defend my devotion, because what I am going to tell you may shock a few of you, and for the die-hard fans, could bring a tear to your eye.

I DO NOT LIKE Les Miles. There I said it, and the giant elephant in the room has finally vanished. Although for most of you who know me, this revelation did not come as a surprise. Les is a good person, just not a good coach for a top-tier Southeastern Conference team. I feel like the future of the program is in jeopardy. I don’t feel comfortable with my beloved Tigers running out of the tunnel to 92,000 screaming fans with Les leading the charge. After this past Wednesday’s festivities, I am realizing that I am no longer in the minority with my opinion.

For anyone who doubts my loyalty to LSU football, let me explain something; I love the program so much that I got on a plane at 5:05 pm Tuesday, February 2 headed for New Orleans and then got back on a plane at 9:40 am Thursday, February 4 bound for Birmingham. This means that I was in my home state for less than 48 hours just so that I could work the LSU Gridiron Club’s annual recruiting day party, the Bayou Bash.

For the third year in a row I donned my VIP Hostess t-shirt while serving food and beer to LSU fans, many of whom paid $2000 for a table right by the stage. Being that this wasn’t my first rodeo, I know what the atmosphere of this social gathering usually feels like, so I believed I knew what to expect. What I got, was nothing like I anticipated.

Most tables were not full, the food and beer barely seemed to be flowing and the usually rowdy crowd was surprisingly subdued all day. I have tried to figure out what could have caused the drastic mood change. I have come to the following conclusions: most of the recruits had signed before we were finished serving breakfast, the economy is bad and people felt it was difficult to leave work to come mingle, and Tiger fans may be losing faith in their beloved team.

The general consensus is the team has not performed up to their potential the last two years. I am not just talking about loosing games. Every team is going to lose a game now and then. In the modern era of football, in the toughest conference (SEC), being perfect is a daunting task. Even our two national championship seasons came with a loss or two. So what has changed, and why do we all feel so entitled to perfection?

For LSU, it is not the “L” in the column for a few games that hurts; it is the way in which we have lost those games. It is a 4th quarter loss when you have been leading all game, calling the option (which had not worked all season) on 3rd and long, to lose because our offense could not muster a touchdown, and losses due to poor clock management. These sorts of things have left a bitter taste in our mouths. I feel you can blame the majority of these losses on the coaching staff for not preparing the team.

Judging from the reaction of the fans at the Bayou Bash, many of them feel the same. As tradition, when the LSU head football coach would speak, everyone in the room would listen, and yes, I am counting the sad days of Curley Hallman and Mike Archer. During Miles’ speech people were texting and talking on their cell phones, and amongst each other. It was very clear that he did not have our undivided attention for his speech about things not “being good enough,” that felt rehearsed and insincere. In a room that would normally erupt with applause and cheers when every coach was introduced, the welcome was a bit icy. Few clapped and even less stood to offer support. If the coaches did not know before Wednesday that fans are unhappy, they know it now.

After such a calm, civil Bayou Bash, what does this tell us? Are tiger fans loosing faith?

Not yet! True Tiger fans will always be Tiger fans. Young children will grow up spending most of their Saturdays tailgating for games outside of Tiger Stadium. RVs will be adorned with LSU paint and stuffed tigers and will still drive hundred of miles to see the team play at opposing venues. That said, if Miles cannot find a way to field a more disciplined, better prepared and stronger team, his head will be on the chopping block. Fans young and old have no problem planting “For Sale” signs in coaches’ yards.

Soon, there may come a time when several million dollars for a buy-out seems like pocket change if it means luring a new head coach to Baton Rouge. After all, we have driven out better coaches for less (no pun intended).