GAMEDAY, BABY.

Two words.

Gameday Rocks.

I got in at 3 am last night, so I slept until 12:30 in the afternoon today. I threw a cap on my head and walked over to the French House where they were serving free jambalaya...which served as my breakfast. Then I walked across campus to the gift shop so I could buy my gameday PJ's.

Let me explain.

Years ago, freshman were humiliated in many ways by upperclassmen...males were required to shave their heads, etc...(which can't be a bad thing as I shaved mine voluntarily this summer...)

Anyhow. They were also forced to go to the first football game in the stadium barefoot and in their pajamas. Well, now, it's a tradition. And everyone goes to the first game in a special pair of striped purple and gold pajamas now. So, I went to by mine at the gift shop about 1:15.

It took me literally close to an hour to get through the gift shop and make my purchase. They only allowed a certain amount in at a time. It was packed, standing room only. I got my PJ's and jogged back to my room to get a quick shower, and a quick bite to eat, only to power walk back to the stadium.

Just to give you an idea of the atmosphere on gameday at LSU...it's unbelievable. Everywhere the eye can see are tailgaters...tents with people barebecuing, etc...blaring music...chilling...getting pepped up for the game. The campus is jam packed with wild and crazy fans.

I got to the stadium at 3 pm when gates were supposed to open (5 pm game to start). I had to walk all the way around the stadium because parts were blocked off. As the gates opened and we walked in, the shouting began..."Go tigers...LSU", etc. The cool thing is that the students have a "student section." So as students, we cheer together, yell together and watch the game together.

It was 3 pm...and the sun was blazing hot as...just hot. Which it would continue to do for 2 hours. The first thing that struck me about Tiger Stadium...is its vastness. It's HUGE.

For the next 2 hours till the game started we did the wave, did a whole bunch of different cheers, acted like the crazy college kid desperately devoted LSU football fans we are. Then the "Golden band from Tigerland" comes marching in. If that drumline don't get ya I don't know what will.

For the first time attending a college football game...I quickly began to experience the awesome phenomenon many have experienced. You feed off the energy of not just the person next to you, not just the band and cheerleaders, not just the size of the stadium, ...but the people across the stadium...the DEAFENING roar assaulting your ears, the floor literally shaking beneath your feet...the shrill scream in your ear of the girl next to you...

As a side story here, the floor of the stadium apparently once shook so from students stamping up and down...that it registered as a small earthquake on the richter scale in an LSU science building. True story.

Near 5 pm, as many of us had been doing much screaming before anything happened...the band came out...it got very very...cloudy.

Everyone starts cheering...no more sun. Everyone was drenched with sweat.

They started throwing free stuff to the crowd. I got a free t-shirt in a toss yesterday...well I'm getting good at this getting free t shirts thing...i got another one today. The chick next to me was ticked off though. She obviously thought she deserved it, whereas I didn't. What can you do with girls like that? Just smile and hope their mood will pass.

The next hour would drench us all with a Noahic-era flood of a rain that was nothing short of...cool.

As they were doing the star spangled banner on the field...it started to drizzle...more...and more...until it was a complete downpour. Of course, we all cheered. Why? Why not.

Off and on it poured for the next hour...we all were chilled to the bone...I danced in the rain a little on top of the bleacher seat...the cheering continued...the band played some...but eventually it looked like they might call off the game. The field was getting huge puddles, the bleachers area was beginning to flood for crying out loud. Some serious rain.

Of course, we cheered, "we won't go home *clap clap*"...

Eventually, some guy without a shirt ran onto the field, then abandoned by coaches and refs and the band, who'd run for shelter...he ran as the students section approvingly screamed and he slipped belly first down across the slippery field. The police carted him away. I found myself cheering along with all the students, "LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO!" After all...he wasn't hurting anything. Just having a bit of fun...and entertaining all of us...and it was a peaceful protest that we as insane college students weren't leaving the stadium...if we got sick standing soaked in an incessant rain.

As ESPN started putting away its equipment, individual guys (and one girl) would one by one run across the field, slipping through the gates and temporarily dodging police officers trying to stop them...doing the slip and slide thing across the center of the field. Poor suckers. We were laughing...but they were getting arrested. But then again...they had a free will.

Three guys slipped through the gate and belly flopped together...and then turned themselves in. Kind of like, "ok, take us away. We're done." And yet some guy in a yellow polo grabbed one of the offenders...which was unnecessary force...as the student gave himself up willingly.

Now here's where things got out of hand...and I witnessed something...bad...but fascinatingly crazy. I'll never know how this streaker managed to take all his clothes off on the side without being noticed and then from nowhere...to run out onto the field with his buck naked self for all the world to see. Of course...you can imagine the crowd's reaction to that. Really not fair to families present...aside from the fact it was a sinful act. I will admit...although I don't agree with the actions of people like that...I do have to chuckle over the brazenness of who they are. As the police carted him off...at least he got a baseball cap to temporarily cover up...ahem. Anyhow.

Eventually...the rain came to a drizzle just before 6 pm...and an hour late...as we screamed our approval...out ran our beloved Tigers in purple and gold...out came the band...out came Mike V (Mike the Tiger...real live tiger) in his cage, with the cheerleaders perched on top...

And from here...there's nothing much to be said...but the next 3.5 hours I constantly screamed clapped and blah blah as everyone did. I stood up the whole time, too.

I failed to mention I'd picked up a foam Tiger claw hand thing earlier...which I waved around. The cool thing is there's a different cheer for 1st-3rd down...there's Hey Fighting Tigers...the fight song...other songs and cheers...each has its own "vocals" and hand motions...

I don't have much commentary on the game itself as I'm not an avid football fan (I often cheered just because everyone else was) ... but I'll just say I had the time of my life screaming and such.

We almost lost against Oregon State Beavers. It was quite a game. The Beavers got one touchdown in the first quarter. By halftime it was...I think...15-7, in favor of the Beavers. And it stayed there until late in the fourth quarter.

Therefore, from the middle of the 2nd quarter till about the 2 minutes were left in the 4th, they were dark hours for the Tigers. Some people left...it looked like we were going to loose. But we kept cheering...and when the QB got injured. It's just awesome cheering with 15,000 other students (that's a guess...the stadium holds almost 92,000) ... you have the sense you're a part of something huge...and you cheer together the team...even when they're losing.

And sure enough it was tied up 15-15 at the "eleventh hour" of the game. When when we got that extra 2 point conversion...everybody lost it...including me. It was unreal to think that our losing game had come to overtime. Both guys and girls get ecstatic when something like that happens. But girls have the tendency to not do the male thing (give off a testosterone-latent, fake scream). They get emotional.

Which turned out good for me...I got a free hug. "I don't eve know you but *hug* ...I'm soooo happy!" she said. Sounds good to me.

Of course...whoever still had a voice utilized it more than ever in overtime. We got a touchdown and field goal. The Beavers get a turn and score the touchdown...but miss the field goal...that's it...more screaming. We've won.

"YEAH-YA BABY!"

A few minutes later...as we're leaving the stadium singing and all...I walk over to the parade grounds...where ESPN is set up and about to do a live broadcast with Sportscenter. I jumped into the crowd hoping to get onto TV. As I watched the TV...I realized I was on TV...not really. Actually I was hidden by other people...I just waved my Tiger Claw...and there it was on TV. No one else noticed...but my Tiger Claw was there, I saw it. And there was much rejoicing. Yay.

I then went back to the dorm. I tried calling a couple people...no one picked up. So I walked into Tigertown...many people were at the Varsity or the Chimes getting boozed up. I by-passed that and tried a little place I've heard rave reviews about but never tried before. Raising Cane's chicken fingers. A happening place...with awesome chicken fingers. I'm a fan of the restaurant affectionately known as "Cane's" already...I bought the Cane's mug. I walked back after eating, met some random people, screamed with them...chatted about the game...chatted with Thomas...Jeremie called...talked to him.

Here I am at 1:28 am tired but satisfied.

Now THAT'S what I call gameday. That was wild. Who would've though so much could be contained in one day...

Jambalaya breakfast, getting rained on for an hour and loving every minute of it, seeing a streaker, jumping and screaming through a nail-biter of a game that we'd ultimately win, getting on T.V. (sort of), becoming an instant Cane's fan...oh yeah...and I forgot to mention...

...spending $8.50 just for nachos and a drink.

As you can tell...I had the time of my life today.