One perk of this job is that I get approved to cover LSU football games. As a result, I get to eat hot dogs with the big shots in the press box. It’s a tough life. But, every now and then, I like to remember my roots and watch a game with the bourgeoisie in the stands.
This past weekend I had one of those chances as my usual traveling partner, Marty Soileau, and I went to the LSU game in Norman, Okla., against the Oklahoma Sooners. Fun fact alert... It was LSU’s first game ever in the state of Oklahoma.
It was also a game that I wished I was in the press box for. The game kicked off at 2:30 that afternoon with temperatures in the mid 50s. What made it bad though was the 20-plus mile an hour winds hitting us in the face as we were sitting in the upper deck.
We had planned on cold temperatures before we left, so we were bundled up. But, my face was uncovered, which gave me a sinus headache after the game.
Marty and I soldiered through the blustery conditions and stayed for the whole game. And it actually was a good game despite the LSU loss. We even got to see the Sooner Schooner come out and make rips on the field after every touchdown.
And, overall, it was a great trip. I have been to a number of LSU road games over the years. Among road games in the SEC, this one compared a lot to Georgia as Norman had a very Athenian (Georgia not Greece) feel to it. The people were nice and welcoming and treated us well. Norman is definitely a place worth going back to for other trips.
Now, on most road trips, I get sluggish on the drive back. The drives tend to take forever and normally aren’t a lot of fun. But, I got a boost on the drive back from Norman as it was announced Lane Kiffin had finally taken the head coaching job at LSU.
The news caused different reactions depending on which side of the Mississippi River you were on.
In Baton Rouge, and probably Louisiana as a whole, the Kiffin news was almost billed as the second coming of Jesus Christ. Well, Kiffin is not the Messiah. However, in the minds of many LSU fans, he is the right man for the job to resurrect the football program after three and a half years of languishing under Brian Kelly.
In Mississippi, where Kiffin spent the past six years as head coach of Ole Miss, he is now the most hated person probably since Ulysses S. Grant. If you know your Civil War history, you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, Kiffin led the Rebels to an 11-win season this year and a potential berth in the College Football Playoff. However, since he took the job in Baton Rouge, Kiffin cannot coach Ole Miss in the playoffs.
Now, I get Ole Miss’ reaction. They are furious at the guy for leaving under the cover of night right after he gets his team to the promised land of the playoffs. But, if you’re a Rebel fan, don’t be mad at Kiffin. Be mad at the way the college football system is set up today with the transfer portal, which opened this past Monday. I may have gotten my dates crossed, but I know it has something to do with the recruiting schedule. Anyway, yea, what Kiffin did was probably shady, but his hands were tied with the system currently in place in college football.
Here’s my thing on the whole Kiffin to LSU situation. At first, I thought it was a home run hire. Hey, look, he is a great coach and won at every place he has been. But, there is baggage.
A reporter, after Ole Miss beat Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl last Friday, called Kiffin a term that rhymes with “row.” And, to me that was an accurate description because Kiffin has a track record of not staying at one place very long, for one reason or another. He only stayed as head coach in Tennessee for one season before leaving for USC. His six years in Oxford was the longest he spent at one place as a head coach. But, he flirted with going to Auburn as head coach of the Tigers about a year or so after taking the job at Ole Miss.
So, my question is this. How long before he leaves LSU for supposed greener pastures? We LSU fans need to shower him with hot boudin and cold couche-couche to make sure he sticks around for the long haul.
Getting back to the trip to Norman for a second, I have one complaint. On the drive there and back, I did not see a surrey with a fringe on top in Oklahoma. But, besides that, Rodgers and Hammerstein were correct when they wrote, “You’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma, O.K.!”
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