Lsualumni's Weblog

A Quick Thanks

lsualumni — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:16:26 +0000

Thank you to all of the alumni who have sent in their stories and photographs for The Spirit of LSU! Thanks to all of your wonderful memories, it’s going to be a great book.

Also, congratulations to Kristin Tassin, winner of the $500 contest for best story! See her story and many others below.

Geaux, Tigers!

–The LSU Alumni Association

Tiger Tale: The Golden Band from Tigerland

lsualumni — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:13:58 +0000

The Winner for Best Story: The Tigerland Band by Kristin Tassin 1993 & 1996 (Law)

All I ever wanted to do was go to LSU and march in Tiger Band. I had dreams of sitting in Tiger Stadium, playing “Pre-game” and “Geaux Tigers”, cheering my Tigers to victory. When I was growing up, I spent every Fall in front of the TV or on campus tailgating and watching Tiger football. I was born to be a Tiger. In fact, I bleed purple and gold. So, when I graduated from high school in 1989, there was only one place I was going, only one school I even applied to…LSU.

I was one of the fortunate few to make it into Tiger Band that year. I started band practice 2 weeks before classes started and watched fellow band members drop like flies…literally. The heat index was somewhere over 100 degrees, but I marched on, panting and sweating, working towards my dream. When that day finally arrived in late August of 1989, I was so nervous and excited, I could hardly march in a straight line! There is NOTHING more exciting than when Tiger Band marches onto the field in Tiger stadium, with 90,000+ fans screaming, waiting for those 4 notes that send Tiger fans into a state of pandemonium. As I waited for my turn to be part of history, I closed my eyes and savored every moment. I burned the images and sounds and smells into my mind so I would never forget it. The whistles and shouts of the crowd mixed with the roar of Mike V and cheers of “Hot boudin, cold coush coush…”; the smell of gumbo and jambalaya mixed with bourbon floating in the air from tailgaters who had been out since the early morning; and the sight of 90,000+ fans wearing the most beautiful colors…purple and gold.

As I waited for the Drum Major to count us off, my heart fluttered and I realized I was about to do something that few people will ever get to do. I was about to experience a thrill in a way that most others will never experience it. I was about to be the reason that over 90,000 people would rise to their feet and cheer loud enough to register on the richter scale. Then I heard the count from the whistle and the drums started beating in time. When my turn came to step off onto the field, I kept my eyes up looking around at the faces full of excitement for what we were about to do. When I reached my spot on the field, a cheer went up, then silent anticipation. The drums started, the cymbals crashed, my horn flew up just at the right moment, then….baaaah, bah, bah, nah!! There it was, the 4 notes I had waited to play my entire life! The crowd went wild, and I did not play another note. I spent the remainder of the drill just savoring the experience, feeling the rush, the excitement, until we came to an abrupt halt, forming the traditional “L-S-U” in the center of the field. The rest is a blur…playing the National Anthem, the Alma Mater, and standing in the tunnel when the team ran out onto the field. All I could think was, that was an experience I will never have again.

Although I continued to march my entire 4 years of undergraduate study, there is only one “first”, and I had just had it. I will treasure my time in Tiger Band forever, but my first Pre-game ranks up there as one of the best experiences of my life. Some people, especially from other schools, think I’m weird, they don’t get it. They don’t understand what it is like to be born with a passion for something that runs as deep as family. A passion that is ingrained in Louisiana families and handed down for generations. A passion that is…forever LSU!

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

lsualumni — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:15:29 +0000

Fast Facts: Jennifer Fanguy

lsualumni — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:33:56 +0000

Five words that describe me: novelist, poet, runner, artist, and volunteer.

Tiger Tales: TOP SECRET…ish

lsualumni — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:45:10 +0000

In my first semester at LSU, I was living in the Tiger Stadium North dorms on the fifth floor. At the time there was no air conditioning. Needless to say, it got pretty hot. My room mate and I decided we would haul a window air conditioning unit up to our room under cover of darkness. Our intention was to use it only at night, as the water it leaked would draw attention from students and others walking below to class. We found out why air conditioning units were prohibited that first night when we cranked that baby up. The draw of electricity was too much for the circuits to handle, and when the AC was on, all of the lights on the fifth floor became very dim.

One night a huge jock knocked on our door and asked if our lights were dim. We cracked the door slightly, so as not to let him feel any of the cool air and just agreed with him and shooed him away. This was TOP SECRET and we did not want to be evicted. The following night, we apparently blew the circuits and all of the electricity in our wing went out. We scrambled to haul that massive air conditioning unit to our car before we were found out. Maybe we should have tried a smaller unit!

–Stephen R. Davis

Tiger Tales: A True Fan

lsualumni — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:46:13 +0000

After moving to Baton Rouge in 1953, I quickly became a passionate and fanatical LSU football fan. Although I love all LSU sports, my favorite is football. I wear purple and gold every Friday and again on Monday, regardless of the outcome of the Saturday game and, of course, always to the Bengal Belle luncheons. From 1953 until 2005, I missed only three home games: once when my son was born, once to attend a wedding (poor planning there) and, lastly, when I attended a high school reunion in Michigan. When I moved here, Jim Corbett was athletic director and Gus Tinsley, the football coach. TV coverage was still in the future, the south end had not yet been completed, tickets were available at a booth outside the stadium, you could leave home at 6 p.m. and never miss the kick-off, and what fun it was to walk across the playing field when the game was over. I was there for Billy Cannon’s run, when we beat Notre Dame and Joe Theisman, and when Bert Jones threw that last-second touchdown pass to beat Old Miss. I was a participant at the earthquake game, was witness to the foggy/orange game in 1982, cheered when the goal posts came down in 1997, was thrilled whenever we beat Alabama, and almost had a heart attack in that overtime game with Auburn.

Since I do not take losing well, I have been known to seriously question an official’s parentage, a coach’s decisions, the fates, weather or even the time of day. And, of course, no one is happier than me when we win. I have hated Notre Dame ever since they knocked us out of the Cotton Bowl, cried when Tennessee broke our 13-game winning streak in 1959, despised Ole Miss because we had so much trouble beating them in Jackson, hated Florida because they were always so good, hated Cigars, and hated Alabama and Tulane, but didn’t all LSU fans? I was in the stadium through all those awful losing years, but I was also there for all the great and memorable moments. I have walked down the hill with the band, have cried “Tiger Bait” and “Go To Hell Ole Miss,” have felt betrayed when a coach left but then was 100 percent behind the new coach and I have spent all day Saturday tailgating, regardless of the weather, which is considered standard procedure for a true fan.

I was beginning to think I would never see LSU win another National Championship, but now my two crystal footballs have the top spot among my many precious Tiger treasures. I have a brick at the new tiger cage, I own a number of LSU prints, my Christmas tree is decorated purple and gold, my license plate says “LSU by 6”, and I have a tiger tattoo on my leg. I have worked for the attorney who was Homecoming Queen in 1996. An LSU flag hangs on my porch and a six-foot inflatable Tiger greets passersby on game day. I participated in the first Bengal Belle Football 101, which was a fabulous experience. Yes, I am obsessive. Yes, I bleed purple and gold!! I am happy. My dreams have all come true and I am 73 years old!!!! While I am not an alumni, I am a TRUE TIGER FAN!!!

–Anne Strahan

Fast Facts: Tom Arceneaux

lsualumni — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:32:33 +0000

Daydream – All my life I wanted to play football in Tiger Stadium. Alas, Coach McClendon had no need for a slow, 5’6″, 145 lb. center in 1969. Nonetheless, my Sigma Nu fraternity got the bid to play Kappa Alpha in the Charity Bowl while I was in undergraduate school, so I did indeed play one football game in a purple and gold uniform in Tiger Stadium.

Tiger Tales: Proud Moment

lsualumni — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:43:45 +0000

I was never a good student. I couldn’t motivate myself to go to class or study, but that wasn’t the only problem. I was working for five local radio stations at one time, even before the start of my freshman year. I just never got involved in student life. I went to a few campus functions and even lived in Kirby-Smith for a year. I lived for Tiger athletics. I even produced some of the games on the local radio flagship for a while.

But it wasn’t until late in the spring of 2001 that I walked into the LSU Catholic Center at Christ The King Church. I don’t know why I went there that day. I just felt compelled to go. It changed my life completely. Not just my spiritual life, but my LSU life. I became involved in all aspects of the center. I was spending more time on campus then I had when I lived there as a freshman. I owe a great thanks to people like Brice Acosta, Candace Zeringue, Margaret Dillon, Jenny Duckworth, Father Than Vu and Father Jerry Martin. They made me a part of not only the church and its community, but part of the LSU student body in ways I never had been before.

This all culminated for me on September 14, 2001 – the fourth day after the tragic events of September 11. After a beautiful prayer service on the parade grounds, a giant crowd of thousands began to slowly attempt to go about their day. I walked toward the student union and I noticed a small crowd within the larger one. It was a group of street preachers in Free Speech Alley. They were destroying the hopeful, united, peaceful spirit of the day by screaming at all who walked by.

I overheard a girl near me crying and saying to herself, “Why would you come here and do something like this? It’s like pouring salt in our wounds.” I was enraged, but I knew that screaming back at these people would do no good. I went to see Father Than and asked if I could borrow a Bible. He lent me one without hesitation and I headed back to Free Speech Alley.

As I drew closer to the group of angry proselytizers, I heard them shouting “sinner!” at nearly everyone they saw. “You’re all damned to hell! Especially you, whore!” They used to word “whore” to refer to an 18 year-old freshman girl whose only crime was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt. I saw dozens of saddened and angry students. Some were engaging the group to no avail. I jumped up onto one of the concrete benches and opened Father Than’s Bible.

“One of them, an expert in the law, tested Jesus with this question:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

I looked at the now quiet group of street preachers and said, “You are not loving these people, your neighbors. You are kicking them while they are down. Go home. Let them reconcile their sadness in their own hearts.”

Then I addressed the whole crowd. “If you ignore these people, they will have no effect here. Tell everyone you know to do the same.”

The angry preachers did not leave immediately, but an hour later when I drove by they were gone. For weeks and months, people I did not know would approach me and say they saw me that day. It was one of my proudest moments as public speaker, as a Christian, and as an LSU student.

-Patrick Thomas Thibodeaux

Tiger Tale: An LSU Wedding

lsualumni — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:08:28 +0000

My husband-to-be attended school at the University of Alabama, and I attended LSU for my undergraduate degree and am currently pursuing my Masters here. Both of us adore college football. Our house, usually loving and harmonious, divides along loyalties on the one day a year when our two schools meet on the football field. (The rivalry became more heated when a certain coach returned to SEC football to offer his service to another team.) During the course of our relationship, we have looked forward to the BAMA- LSU game, placing a small bet, which included bragging rights for a year. This year, however, we plan to make game day extra special by officially uniting our house on the day which it is normally divided. We scheduled our wedding early on that Saturday morning so that we can get all of our friends and family to campus to the tailgate reception in celebration of our vows. We want to share our love of each other, football, rivalry and LSU tailgating with everyone around us. After we say our “I do’s”, we plan to move our party to the Parade Grounds where everyone who loves us and appreciates a good tailgate is welcome to join. (I also want the magnificent oak trees as the backdrop for my wedding photos.) To cap off the memories of the day, we plan to attend the game in full wedding attire, cheering and chanting with the rest of the fans. This football game day is very important to our soon-to-be-united household, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the happiest day of our lives than with 93,000 of our best friends.

–Stephanie Gauthier, ’05 & ‘09

Crawfish Boil: Music City Chapter

lsualumni — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:46:50 +0000