“LSU remains undefeated.”
The SEC on CBS was a prime part of my childhood. As soon as the theme song played, I was seated in my living room for the 3:30 game, anxious to see what two great SEC teams would face off.
The great Verne Lundquist, joined by Gary Danielson, commentated on some all-time games, from the Kick-Six to the Camback, to the aforementioned Game of the Century between LSU and Alabama in 2011.
I got to watch all of these games, as well as many more growing up, and the only thing I could think of when I watched, besides the game itself, was how awesome it would be to attend a game like the Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare or a night game in Athens, Georgia.
When the opportunity arose to go see WKU Football take on the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, my excitement could not be contained. A night game in Baton Rouge was a lifelong dream and only furthered my desire to become a sportswriter.
After visiting Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, I can officially say I’ve crossed another state off of my list, alongside Sports Editor Nathan Mueller and reporter Austin Rice.
I love traveling. I enjoy adventuring to new places in the United States. The problem is I don’t like being cooped up in a car for hours and hours. Bowling Green to Baton Rouge is about a 10-hour drive, and while Austin and Nathan chose the drive, I chose air travel. Up until Friday morning, when I flew, I had only flown one other time in late October, when I flew round-trip to Wilmington. It was a new experience, and I was scared.
The nerves this time around disappeared once we took off, particularly because I fell asleep. I flew out of Nashville and landed on a layover in Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. I bought a cheap but nice sweater to commemorate my first time in the Lone Star State.
Once I left Houston, I flew down and landed in Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport was small, but it had a cute art gallery inside near some shops. I looked around and took some pictures before catching my Uber to my hotel, the Bally Baton Rouge.
Upon checking in, I relaxed a bit before boarding a shuttle to The Queen Baton Rouge, a sister hotel. A 30-minute walk along the Mississippi River separates the two hotels. At The Queen, I visited a restaurant called Big Chicken and got some tenders and fries.
After moseying around the patrons at the casino, I walked back to my hotel. I went sightseeing along the Mississippi, making sure no alligators jumped out of the water looking for a late-night snack. I visited the Baton Rouge capitol building. Across the lawn sat the statue of Huey Pierce Long, former Senator of Louisiana.
From there, Nathan and Austin joined me, and we recapped our travel adventures. Getting lost driving through rural Mississippi is not for the weak.
Saturday morning, before heading to the stadium, we played some cornhole. I am not as good as I thought I was, while Rice was moving like prime Kyrie Irving. We visited the LSU Museum of Art and toured around unique sculptures and paintings. We rounded off the visit with a visit to the gift shop.
At Tiger Stadium, we walked around among the thousands of tailgaters while simultaneously exploring the campus. In Tuscaloosa, we toured the campus, from around the stadium all the way to the academic buildings. The campus as a whole is massive and stands out because of its giant buildings, specifically the Greek houses. The campus Barnes and Noble is huge, and I was very tempted to drop hundreds of dollars there. Whether it’s in Kentucky or Louisiana, I always try to find a Barnes and Noble. My home away from home.
Making our way back towards the stadium, we walked by the War Memorial Tower on the campus parade grounds. Many fraternities and sororities placed their tents on the lawn, tailgating with loud music and drinks.
From there, we walked back to the stadium, passing along the ‘Tiger Walk’ route. We entered the stadium and made our way up to the press box. After clearing security, we got comfortable and ready for game coverage.
Bring on the emotions.
Being all the way up and staring down at the Tiger eye at the fifty-yard line was a surreal feeling. It’s a stadium I’ve wanted to visit since I was young, growing up and watching Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson call those great SEC on CBS games at the 3:30 EST window. Seeing how the stadium for the game was presented, whether it was Bryant-Denny, Kyle Field, or Jordan-Hare, was an unreal feeling, and Tiger Stadium was no different. It gave me goosebumps.
As a member of the media in the press box, cheering was prohibited, but the excitement for the experience couldn’t be ignored. The anticipation, the cauldron of emotions, was at an all-time high. And it only increased as the LSU Tiger Marching Band began to play. As a member of my high school marching band, it’s always exciting to see college bands perform. LSU has some of the coolest uniforms ever, and that’s exemplified by the purple and gold school colors. Watching each member of the band file into the bleachers before the low brass and trumpets stole the show with their pregame songs truly sucked the air out of the stadium. It was a clear indicator that it’s game time in Baton Rouge, and all of the traveling and preparing I’ve done to this point is about to reach the summit.
As they wrapped up their pregame songs, toe hit leather on the kickoff, completing the dream.
A Saturday night in Baton Rouge.
This is an experience that will live in prominence for me. From every snap to the band songs between plays, this was a memory I will forever cherish and one I hope continues, setting the stage for more opportunities like this. Listening to the band throughout the game, to the crowd doing the ‘GO TIGERS!’ chant, it was exactly what I expected from a night game in Tiger Stadium.
