question about 2007 season ticket waiting list...

I'm afraid this has been going on a lot longer than that. It started in the 1980's under Bob Broadhead and greatly so under Joe Dean in the 1990's. When I was a student in the 70's, the student section went from under the goal posts all around the northeast end zone and all the way to the 50 yard line. Tiger band sat between the 30 and the 50. At the time any student could get into Tiger stadium just by showing his ID and getting it punched. It was first-come, first-served and serious football fans had to stand in line for 4 or 5 hours to get those sideline seats. And nobody left early to go party. I mean nobody.

Then they started making students buy discounted tickets and let frats and other groups have reserved seating . . . and they reduced the amount of student seats. They bribed Tiger Band with bigger bandsmen stipends to move them to the end zone so they could sell more sideline season tickets.

Then LSU had eight losing seasons in the 90's and the students just about quit coming to games. There were huge empty area's, so Joe Dean reduced the student seating again and sold them to paying season ticket holders who would show up.

What has happened since the 2003 Championship is that the students all want to come to games again. I don't know how student tickets are distributed now and I assume it is a disaster. You probably have a right to complain. But you must also consider something else. In each of the excellent LS winning seasons of the 21st century, the students almost always fail to fill their allocation of seats. There is usually a big hole under the scoreboard. No shows. Worse, they start leaving the stadium in droves after the half, whether we're winning or losing. There are a lot of proud Tiger fans who pay a big chunk of their paychecks to be in that stadium that are very annoyed at the missing students for such pathetic support of the team.

The Athletic department is livid about it. The way they see it is that if the students don't fill their allocation, then the allocation is too small. I think the students probably have a point about the arcane ticket ditribution system. All I know is that when it was first-come, first-served and any student could get in on his ID, they entire stident section was filled with students who really wanted to be there. Football fans, not just partiers.

Your fight is not with "elite boosters" and "TAF members", nor any of the thousands of ordinary Joes with season tickets who are not fat cats at all. Your fight is with the athletic department and you are not going to win it unless a way is found to convince your student compadre's to show up for the game and don't leave to party until it is over.

if they don't, then there are plenty of alumni with jobs who want to see the games and will buy the tickets. In a few years you will be one of them.