|
BATON ROUGE, La. - Empty parking spaces around Tiger Stadium three hours before a game is just about unheard of - but then again so is Monday football at LSU. The tailgaters and pregame partygoers were out in force, just not quite full force, before the third-ranked Tigers finally opened their home season against No. 10 Tennessee in the first Monday game ever played at Tiger Stadium. LSU should have played three home games by now, but hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced a change of plans. Billy and Brenda Knoles from Lake Charles, La., which was hard hit by Rita last weekend, were affected directly by both storms. Hurricane Katrina wiped away their son's home in Biloxi, Miss. Three weeks after the Knoleses wound their way through storm damage in Mississippi to pick up their son, they were evacuating for Rita. Despite living about 110 miles away from Baton Rouge, the Knoleses have season tickets to the Tigers. It hasn't felt much like football season in Louisiana, though. "When we get in that stadium and hear that band play ...," Billy said. "We'll feel it," Brenda said, finishing her husband's sentence. A few hours later, after the band spelled out LSU on the field, they started their pregame set with "Walking in New Orleans" before the alma mater and national anthem. A moment of silence was held for the victims of the hurricanes, after which the stadium announcer welcomed the fans to the first major sporting event since the storms, what he called "one of the most significant gatherings in the history of our state." He went on, "On this evening we vow to move forward under a common flag because this is LSU football; this is Tiger Stadium; and this is Louisiana." With that, a deafening roar came from the crowd - one that was matched about 15 minutes later when Joseph Addai ran 19 yards for a touchdown on LSU's first play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead. Tigers Stadium holds more than 91,000 and since Nick Saban turned LSU back into a national power, its been a rarity to have fewer than that in Death Valley for a game. And no college football fans enjoy their tailgating more than Tigers fans. While it was far from a quiet day on campus, the crowds were slow in arriving on a work day, and not as wild. The tickets were all sold, but school officials were expecting to see empty seats. There were several thousand but mostly in the upper reaches of the stadium and in the Tennessee section. Like the Knoleses, many LSU fans travel from far across the state to Tigers games. LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said upward of 30,000 season-ticket holders come from the areas hit hardest by the storms - from New Orleans on the eastern Gulf Coast to tiny Cameron on the western. "We can't get all our fans here, but we're hoping for a nice crowd tonight," he said. Still, music blared from boom boxes and dance-hall sized speakers along Skip Bertman Drive, barbecues filled the air with savory smoke and almost everybody along was sipping from a bottle or can wrapped in a foam cozy. Todd Johnson, 40, of Baton Rouge, had his group of about 15 people in great spirits, snacking on deer meat and chicken fingers under a purple, gold and white LSU tent. His crew was set up in a parking spot right next to the sidewalk, hoping to lure in some passers-by. Most of parking lot was empty, something that Johnson had never seen three hours before kickoff for a Saturday night game. "It's kind of mixed bag tonight, but we're still trying to make the best of what we have," he said. LSU is starting its home season later than any season since 1960. The Tigers original home- and season-opener, the first game under new coach Els Miles, was slated for Sept. 3, but in the aftermath of Katrina it was postponed with no debate. The next week the Tigers were supposed to play Arizona State in Tiger Stadium, but just a few days before the Sept. 10 game, it was moved to Tempe, Ariz. Baton Rouge was in no condition to host a football game with the campus housing evacuees and being used as a staging area for relief. The Tigers won a thrilling game at Arizona State, 35-31, then had an open date. The Tennessee game was originally scheduled for last Saturday, but with Hurricane Rita heading toward Louisiana, the Southeastern Conference decided to postpone until Monday.
|
