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LSU, fans enjoy home, sweet home
By Lee Feinswog, Special for USA TODAY
BATON ROUGE LSU athletes from states hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita held Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas flags during a moment of silence to honor victims Monday before their football team took on Tennessee in perhaps the most highly anticipated home opener in program history.
LSU fans waited through three postponements for the Tigers' home opener.
By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY
Kickoff in Tiger Stadium on a hot, humid evening marked LSU's first Monday game and latest home opener ever and punctuated a remarkable four weeks for the Tigers and new coach Les Miles.
Miles sprinted with his team onto the field and received a huge, enthusiastic ovation, albeit from a crowd somewhat thinner than what normally greets the Tigers at kickoff.
It was a stark contrast to the welcome Tennessee's team received when it arrived on campus two hours earlier. LSU fans rocked their buses and broke windows by throwing beer bottles at the Vols.
UT athletics director Mike Hamilton said the Tennessee party had four buses, and he was on the last one, which included other school officials and cheerleaders. "They were throwing bottles at the buses and that kind of stuff," Hamilton said. "The bus I was on, they broke three of the windows."
Vicky Fulmer, wife of UT coach Phillip Fulmer, was riding on the first UT bus and said fans threw beer all over it.
LSU officials explained that three cracked windows occurred after the UT buses mistakenly got behind the LSU team buses, which stopped as scheduled.
"Usually that never happens," LSU associate athletics director Herb Vincent said. "We keep the (visiting team) buses moving so the fans never get the opportunity to touch the buses."
LSU chief of police Ricky Adams said the incident was the only one reported prior to kickoff on a day when "everything was going well. It was a late-arriving crowd with traffic moderate to heavy. We have law enforcement out on post, and the crowd is about what I expected."
Adams said he anticipated a crowd smaller than the 92,400 capacity, and at kickoff, it appeared to be around 80,000 with fans still arriving. Announced attendance was 91,986.
Many of the early arrivals were rewarded. A Tennessee turnover allowed No. 4 LSU to score on its first play from scrimmage, 2:15 into the game. Despite 90-degree temperatures, the crowd was loud and lively. Clearly, they were glad to have the diversion.
"It gives folks a chance to take their minds off their problems for a while," said Max Hart who evacuated New Orleans for Katrina and is living in Grand Couteau, La. "I think people are having a good time tonight. Times are tough right now for everybody in south Louisiana."
The No. 9 Vols appeared sluggish at the start, due perhaps to flying from Knoxville on Monday morning. Division I-A teams rarely travel the day of a game, but hotel rooms are so scarce that Tennessee delayed its departure.
With the game being played at the end of a business day in a city that has battled snarled traffic since a couple of hundred thousand Katrina evacuees ended up here, just playing football was a welcome relief to the LSU community and its faithful following.
LSU's original home opener, Sept. 3 against North Texas, was postponed because of Hurricane Katrina and rescheduled for Oct. 29. The second home game Sept. 10 was moved to Arizona State, where the Tigers won 35-31.
Meanwhile, many of the Tigers became hosts for family and friends who evacuated from New Orleans, sharing their apartments and doing all they could to help.
Paul Rutherford, AP
The game "gives folks a chance to take their minds off their problems for a while," said New Orleans evacuee Max Hart.
The UT game was a sellout for its original Saturday kickoff, and LSU planned on a full house, but that was highly unlikely, considering what has happened in this state the last four weeks combined with the game being moved to Monday. Thousands of ticketholders live in southern Louisiana.
Because of Rita, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive set kickoff for Monday at 6:30 p.m. Central. "The commissioner made a great decision," LSU athletics director Skip Bertman said. "We've got a wonderful event here with ... a safe environment."
Friday nights at LSU, the day before a game, are usually lively with thousands of tailgaters who spend the night. But Sunday the campus was quiet with only a handful of RVs in the lot just south of the stadium.
For example, Don Pearce and Robert Cannon were setting up in their usual spot on South Stadium Drive but acknowledged things were subdued. Pearce said their barbecue menu had called for "pork loin, ham, beef roast and sausage." Now, Cannon chimed in, "We're just having sandwiches."
All around were other signs this game was different. Just three hours before kickoff, campus hardly resembled the madness of a normal game day. LSU has estimated in the past that 150,000 people tailgate. The school also announced Friday evening that Monday classes were canceled, citing "expected effects of Hurricane Rita." What's more, LSU's Carl Maddox Field House, used as a hospital in the aftermath of Katrina, housed special-needs evacuees from Rita.
LSU officials said the field house, just north of the stadium, would not be affected by the game and that in the event of an emergency, a traffic route to and from it was planned.
Had classes been held, the campus would have been a quagmire. Traffic has been especially heavy in Baton Rouge since Katrina, with so many evacuees moving in, and LSU normally requires quite a bit of driving patience on a normal school day and especially on a football Saturday. Many of those tailgaters pay for their parking spots before games, spots that might have been inaccessible had the school been open for classes.
LSU is also in the second season of a construction project on the west side of the stadium that is not finished. Accordingly, a huge parking lot is taken up by cranes.
Across campus, in LSU's Ag Center Parker Coliseum are about 800 pets ranging from dogs to cats to rabbits to ferrets and tortoises, all evacuees from Katrina. A sign at the entrance Sunday notified the pets' owners of shortened hours Monday and warning that "Parking will be a challenge."
Despite all that, the town was ready for football. Said Baton Rouge restaurateur Jack Warner, "We're super-stoked. We'll have the game-day experience that everyone's been looking forward to for eight months."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
I hear the Knoxville News has another article --perhaps someone could get it and post it.
By Lee Feinswog, Special for USA TODAY
BATON ROUGE LSU athletes from states hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita held Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas flags during a moment of silence to honor victims Monday before their football team took on Tennessee in perhaps the most highly anticipated home opener in program history.
LSU fans waited through three postponements for the Tigers' home opener.
By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY
Kickoff in Tiger Stadium on a hot, humid evening marked LSU's first Monday game and latest home opener ever and punctuated a remarkable four weeks for the Tigers and new coach Les Miles.
Miles sprinted with his team onto the field and received a huge, enthusiastic ovation, albeit from a crowd somewhat thinner than what normally greets the Tigers at kickoff.
It was a stark contrast to the welcome Tennessee's team received when it arrived on campus two hours earlier. LSU fans rocked their buses and broke windows by throwing beer bottles at the Vols.
UT athletics director Mike Hamilton said the Tennessee party had four buses, and he was on the last one, which included other school officials and cheerleaders. "They were throwing bottles at the buses and that kind of stuff," Hamilton said. "The bus I was on, they broke three of the windows."
Vicky Fulmer, wife of UT coach Phillip Fulmer, was riding on the first UT bus and said fans threw beer all over it.
LSU officials explained that three cracked windows occurred after the UT buses mistakenly got behind the LSU team buses, which stopped as scheduled.
"Usually that never happens," LSU associate athletics director Herb Vincent said. "We keep the (visiting team) buses moving so the fans never get the opportunity to touch the buses."
LSU chief of police Ricky Adams said the incident was the only one reported prior to kickoff on a day when "everything was going well. It was a late-arriving crowd with traffic moderate to heavy. We have law enforcement out on post, and the crowd is about what I expected."
Adams said he anticipated a crowd smaller than the 92,400 capacity, and at kickoff, it appeared to be around 80,000 with fans still arriving. Announced attendance was 91,986.
Many of the early arrivals were rewarded. A Tennessee turnover allowed No. 4 LSU to score on its first play from scrimmage, 2:15 into the game. Despite 90-degree temperatures, the crowd was loud and lively. Clearly, they were glad to have the diversion.
"It gives folks a chance to take their minds off their problems for a while," said Max Hart who evacuated New Orleans for Katrina and is living in Grand Couteau, La. "I think people are having a good time tonight. Times are tough right now for everybody in south Louisiana."
The No. 9 Vols appeared sluggish at the start, due perhaps to flying from Knoxville on Monday morning. Division I-A teams rarely travel the day of a game, but hotel rooms are so scarce that Tennessee delayed its departure.
With the game being played at the end of a business day in a city that has battled snarled traffic since a couple of hundred thousand Katrina evacuees ended up here, just playing football was a welcome relief to the LSU community and its faithful following.
LSU's original home opener, Sept. 3 against North Texas, was postponed because of Hurricane Katrina and rescheduled for Oct. 29. The second home game Sept. 10 was moved to Arizona State, where the Tigers won 35-31.
Meanwhile, many of the Tigers became hosts for family and friends who evacuated from New Orleans, sharing their apartments and doing all they could to help.
Paul Rutherford, AP
The game "gives folks a chance to take their minds off their problems for a while," said New Orleans evacuee Max Hart.
The UT game was a sellout for its original Saturday kickoff, and LSU planned on a full house, but that was highly unlikely, considering what has happened in this state the last four weeks combined with the game being moved to Monday. Thousands of ticketholders live in southern Louisiana.
Because of Rita, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive set kickoff for Monday at 6:30 p.m. Central. "The commissioner made a great decision," LSU athletics director Skip Bertman said. "We've got a wonderful event here with ... a safe environment."
Friday nights at LSU, the day before a game, are usually lively with thousands of tailgaters who spend the night. But Sunday the campus was quiet with only a handful of RVs in the lot just south of the stadium.
For example, Don Pearce and Robert Cannon were setting up in their usual spot on South Stadium Drive but acknowledged things were subdued. Pearce said their barbecue menu had called for "pork loin, ham, beef roast and sausage." Now, Cannon chimed in, "We're just having sandwiches."
All around were other signs this game was different. Just three hours before kickoff, campus hardly resembled the madness of a normal game day. LSU has estimated in the past that 150,000 people tailgate. The school also announced Friday evening that Monday classes were canceled, citing "expected effects of Hurricane Rita." What's more, LSU's Carl Maddox Field House, used as a hospital in the aftermath of Katrina, housed special-needs evacuees from Rita.
LSU officials said the field house, just north of the stadium, would not be affected by the game and that in the event of an emergency, a traffic route to and from it was planned.
Had classes been held, the campus would have been a quagmire. Traffic has been especially heavy in Baton Rouge since Katrina, with so many evacuees moving in, and LSU normally requires quite a bit of driving patience on a normal school day and especially on a football Saturday. Many of those tailgaters pay for their parking spots before games, spots that might have been inaccessible had the school been open for classes.
LSU is also in the second season of a construction project on the west side of the stadium that is not finished. Accordingly, a huge parking lot is taken up by cranes.
Across campus, in LSU's Ag Center Parker Coliseum are about 800 pets ranging from dogs to cats to rabbits to ferrets and tortoises, all evacuees from Katrina. A sign at the entrance Sunday notified the pets' owners of shortened hours Monday and warning that "Parking will be a challenge."
Despite all that, the town was ready for football. Said Baton Rouge restaurateur Jack Warner, "We're super-stoked. We'll have the game-day experience that everyone's been looking forward to for eight months."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
I hear the Knoxville News has another article --perhaps someone could get it and post it.
