First proper Saturday in Baton Rouge. Nice day outside. Slight lie-in after a week of very early starts necessitated by going to the gym every day before work.
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| Home of Mike VII |
In think he's the only live tiger currently used as a mascot in US college sports. I know that some of you will be very against animals in captivity for the purposes of entertainment. However I'm assured from my research that he's well cared for and would be in a much worse off situation if they hadn't taken him from where he was before.
Anyway, those who know me will know that I love sports, any sports. I especially love watching sport live and I'm also a big fan of US sports. The college football season ended a few weeks ago (in glory for LSU as they won their 4th National title) but the basketball team is nationally relevant (and had a game today) so I figured there might be a good atmosphere down there just before tip-off.
What I hadn't grasped is the sheer scale of everything. Remember this is a college, not a professional team. Yet Tiger Stadium holds in excess of 100,000 people and is comfortably the biggest stadium I have ever seen.
College sports are taken so seriously here in the US, especially in this part of the country. The LSU head coach earns $6m per year, and the QB who led them to the National title 20 days ago is on track to be the #1 pick in the NFL draft. If you consider last year's #1 pick got a $23.6m signing on bonus, you start to see why the whole thing is taken so seriously.
It is something we simply don't have in the UK at this level. We have passionate supporters of course, and in the professional leagues (especially football - UK version) the number of fans who go through the turnstiles in a season is certainly not small. But not college. I went to watch our my university cricket first XI play once and I think there were more people on the pitch than watching.
Maybe I was being naive, but I didn't expect this. Don't forget, most of these players are kids - 18 to 22 generally - and the pressure to perform is astonishing.
They are expected to carry themselves and behave like professionals from almost day one in the system. I spent 8 years in university and can confidently say I was still short of the necessary tools to deal with what they do when I left.
What it all adds up to, is that the Tigers are more than just the local university team, they are ambassadors for the city. Every one of the 21 sports that are officially supported by the university represent the city every time they play.
It is something we simply don't have in the UK at this level. We have passionate supporters of course, and in the professional leagues (especially football - UK version) the number of fans who go through the turnstiles in a season is certainly not small. But not college. I went to watch our my university cricket first XI play once and I think there were more people on the pitch than watching.
Maybe I was being naive, but I didn't expect this. Don't forget, most of these players are kids - 18 to 22 generally - and the pressure to perform is astonishing. They are expected to carry themselves and behave like professionals from almost day one in the system. I spent 8 years in university and can confidently say I was still short of the necessary tools to deal with what they do when I left.
What it all adds up to, is that the Tigers are more than just the local university team, they are ambassadors for the city. Every one of the 21 sports that are officially supported by the university represent the city every time they play.
Scratch a bit deeper and you start to understand why this is the case here. Baton Rouge has no professional teams in any of the big 5 leagues (football, basketball, hockey, baseball or soccer). New Orleans is a few hours down the road and caters for football and basketball, but for baseball or soccer you are looking at Houston, and for hockey the nearest is Dallas.
So everything revolves around LSU.
Pretty much every single person who was hanging round Mike's enclosure before the game today was sporting purple and/or gold (the LSU colours). Kids who clearly are too young to be alumni were proudly decked out and hollering as loud as anyone. The pride the people have in the team, the university and the city is something which I think we struggle with sometimes as Brits. It filters down from the national patriotism which is so prevalent in the US, and at the city/town level it is fervent. Everybody I've met here is fiercely protective of the city and keen to make sure I see the best of it.
I can't imagine what it will be like on a college football game day. The sense of pride, togetherness and belonging is a thing I certainly strive for in life and to see it here - and seemingly so organically too - was heartwarming, if a bit surprising. I'm always searching to feel part of things, as I truly believe that most things in life are better done together. And it is something I'm especially keen to push this year. I don't want this to be a year of solitude spent bouncing between work and the apartment. This city doesn't work like that, and I don't intend to waste opportunity.
As a result, and much to the disappointment of most of my CPChem friends/colleagues (none of whom follow LSU, and many of whom actively dislike the LSU fanbase for being a bit too rabid), it looks like I may be adopting the Tigers for the year, and who knows beyond that.
So, as they say down here on the banks of the Mississippi - Geaux (Go) Tigers!!
Till tomorrow, Tom
PS - Do not mess with this guy
Pretty much every single person who was hanging round Mike's enclosure before the game today was sporting purple and/or gold (the LSU colours). Kids who clearly are too young to be alumni were proudly decked out and hollering as loud as anyone. The pride the people have in the team, the university and the city is something which I think we struggle with sometimes as Brits. It filters down from the national patriotism which is so prevalent in the US, and at the city/town level it is fervent. Everybody I've met here is fiercely protective of the city and keen to make sure I see the best of it.
I can't imagine what it will be like on a college football game day. The sense of pride, togetherness and belonging is a thing I certainly strive for in life and to see it here - and seemingly so organically too - was heartwarming, if a bit surprising. I'm always searching to feel part of things, as I truly believe that most things in life are better done together. And it is something I'm especially keen to push this year. I don't want this to be a year of solitude spent bouncing between work and the apartment. This city doesn't work like that, and I don't intend to waste opportunity.
As a result, and much to the disappointment of most of my CPChem friends/colleagues (none of whom follow LSU, and many of whom actively dislike the LSU fanbase for being a bit too rabid), it looks like I may be adopting the Tigers for the year, and who knows beyond that.
So, as they say down here on the banks of the Mississippi - Geaux (Go) Tigers!!
Till tomorrow, Tom
PS - Do not mess with this guy
1 comment:
More tiger pics x
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