Have you ever gone? It's one of my favorites, along with Uncle Julio's and a truly local Plano joint, El Norte.
Red do you have a clue to what is required to get season tickets today? Like you I've had tickets for 30+ years and don't have to pay TAF membership. Unlike you I'm not working for LSU so have to pay the supplement. It is easy for us and there is no excuse for you or me or those like us. It costs a minimum of $2500/year to TAF to get on the wait list and more to have a chance. The wait list is years long. SO don't go holier than thou and imply its easy to get tickets. Would you drive 5 hours for the hope of finding a ticket at the stadium? If you were in their position I bet you would be bitching more than any of them. You make assumption that those bitching can easily get tickets. I think you are wrong about that.
There's a difference in owning tickets and deciding whether or not to go to the game and not owning tickets and living 5+ hours away. And those seats aren't empty because no one bought those tickets. It's not like any of us from out of town could do anything about it. Those seats are already accounted for. There's already plenty of people tailgating around the stadium that could get tickets too.
And the drive for me is 8 hours from Dallas. I take the chance on the Arkansas game every other year because if the worst happens, and I don't get tickets, I can make it back to my parents' house in Watson in time for the game.
I'd love to go to the LSU ole miss game. It's an hour and a half away. That isn't the problem though. Damn tickets start at $150 plus. Uh uuh. I spent more last year but it was the gumps LSU game. Cyndi and I paid $326 for a pair in the south west lower bowl. Goal line. Had a blast.
More than a clue, sport. I think I already said that. I know someone who wrote a very big check and got a pair of tickets right away. The TAF has ways for big spenders to move up the priority list. Don't be obtuse. What I said was that it is easy to get tickets outside the stadium for any game. That is a fact and you know it. Tickets. Easy. Any game. I tailgate with people who do just that. There are thousands of them, it's a state university, you know. There are fans in east Texas and North Louisiana. Lots of them. Okie comes from OKC . . . 10 hour drive. Irrelevant wild-ass guess. Look Jack, I'm in the stadium and I have used my tickets that I bought and I watch people leave early while I wait for the band to play the Alma Mater. I have more right to be annoyed than TV fans do. Some of those early leavers are not true LSU fans, they just came to a football game and have other interests. Those people piss me off, too. But I also see some people leaving for very good reasons and I have some empathy for them. LSU has simply overbuilt for the number of rabid fans available so that they could sell more tickets. There are lots of casual fans and that is now a way of life because it pays the bills. Here and everywhere else with a big stadium. It's why they are offering $20 seats in the new south upper deck. Its the only way to fill them. You haven't been paying attention. I have been saying that if TV viewers are so outraged at empty seats in Tiger Stadium, they could be filling them instead of complaining. I have been saying that there are real reasons for some people to leave or no-show that they haven't considered. I have been saying that there are a lot more people in the Stadium that are screaming for the Tigers and have to listen to people who are not there bitch about a lack of crowd enthusiasm. I think the anger is misplaced. It should be directed at these clueless commentators searching for a topic to avoid dead air on the TV's that they are watching. LSU is not alone in having no-shows and empty seats. All schools with big stadiums have these issues. USC can't fill half a stadium in the middle of friggin' Los Angeles. Don't believe everything you hear these talking heads say. The biggest no-show and leave-early reason is that ALL GAMES ARE TELEVISED. The problem is television itself hurting ticket sales and attendance. They won't tell you that, of course.
So, if I am a family of four, and not a big spender, I should, on expert advice, fly all of us to Baton Rouge for a competitive game knowing I can get cheap tickets outside the stadium? I tried to get season tickets and finally realized how much money I was wasting giving to the TAF. I give to the general fund now. I moved in priority yes, but when bowl games or extra tickets became available, the legacies bought them up to put on Stub Hub or EBay because they had priority. I wish my parents had attended LSU and were able to pass the tickets to me. I tried to take my family to a Georgia game in BR when both teams were in the top ten. Tickets were NOT available outside the stadium for less than 200 a pop. I watched the game at a bar and really appreciated that Delta flew the three of us there to do what I could do at home. I had two 48yd line tickets from a friend but sold them at face value since I couldn't sit with my kid. I could have made money too, but I think that totally sucks. I get recouping TAF bribes err fees, but buying extra tickets to sell to anyone for a profit is the biggest problem. Bad experiences do abound other than traffic.
I'm sure that the "right" donation to TAF gets immediate tickets. And that's fine if someone has the money and lives in or near Baton Rouge. My issue is 1) I have two kids who will be needing a college education in the next 6-10 years; I'd rather stash money to educate my girls than buy season tickets to my alma mater, which leads to issue 2) I haven't lived within 8 hours of Baton Rouge since 1997 and am unlikely to ever live there again; my husband's present job is much more likely to have us end up in Boston at some point (which would be weird, to say the least.) But make no mistake; much is being made of Tiger Stadium not being a vicious venue anymore, and it makes those of us who bleed purple and gold, even from far away, sad that a tradition in which we take pride is under fire.
