Rebel Chuck
10-10-2007, 03:43 AM
Found this article in the daily mississippian. Pretty funny since my buds and I have talked about lucky ass LSU forever. pretty good read
LSU, the luckiest team of all-time?
The All-American blames 'LSU Band Syndrome'
Seth Keshel
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Sports
PrintEmail DoubleClick Any Word Page 1 of 1 After watching Florida roll to four straight wins (including a 30-24 win in Oxford), I prematurely declared the coming Oct. 6 matchup between the Gators and LSU in Baton Rouge as "Game of the Year."
Florida, committing the cardinal sin of overlooking an opponent, subsequently choked at home against Auburn, thus thwarting any hope of a clash of undefeated teams.
For years, I've seen the aformentioned Tigers win games.
Sometimes they come out running the ball straight over an opponent and pound them into submission, and sometimes they'll air it out and put up well over 40 points. Sprinkled in somewhere with all this talent, however, is a bit of great fortune.
I can think of no other team that has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat more than LSU has. I've made the last two Ole Miss trips to Baton Rouge with the U.S. Marine Corps's own Preston Walker, and we've seen and diagnosed what causes LSU's opponents to collapse, either at home or on the road. We've come to call it "LSU Band Syndrome."
Let me explain how this works.
LSU comes out flat, knowing they are the better team. For three-and-a-half quarters, they play unmotivated football. Then, all of a sudden, the LSU band explodes with a stunning rendition of "Hold that Tiger."
It's all over after that.
Demons possess the LSU players while their opponents are stricken with dysentery.
Unusual things seem to happen.
Suddenly, a double-digit lead is lost when the opposing offense abandons what had worked for three quarters and comes up with a playbook like this: run left, run right, run middle, punt.
This epidemic caused much weeping and gnashing of teeth amongst the Ole Miss faithful last season. Reverting to the "Game of the Year," the LSU Band Syndrome cost Florida big-time this year.
Leading 24-14 in the fourth quarter, a rifled pass from Tim Tebow slammed into a receiver's helmet, miraculously falling into an LSU defender's hands, shifting the tide of that game, which LSU went on to win 28-24.
This loss effectively removed the Gators from the national championship picture.
Sound familiar? It should.
Here are other classic examples of LSU Band Syndrome over the last few years:
LSU at Kentucky, 2002: Trailing 30-27 with time enough for one last play, Marcus Randall heaves a 75-yard "Hail Mary" touchdown to Devery Henderson for a 33-30 win.
Although I hated to see this, it was hilarious to see Kentucky students pouring onto the field thinking the Wildcats had won the game.
I'll bet the players who dumped the water cooler on head coach Guy Morriss prematurely felt stupid.
They got what they deserved. This has since been dubbed the "Bluegrass Miracle."
LSU vs. Ole Miss, 2002: With a 13-7 lead in the fourth quarter, Eli Manning's pass in the red zone to Tremaine Turner bounces off Turner's head and is intercepted by LSU, who proceeds to the opposite end zone for the winning score and a 14-13 victory.
LSU at Ole Miss, 2003: Making its famed "kickers" debut, LSU Band Syndrome infects Ole Miss All-American Jonathan Nichols, causing him to miss two relatively easy kicks in a 17-14 Tiger win that wrestled the SEC West from the Rebels' grasp.
Manning also fell on fourth-and-10 with the game hanging in the balance, thus providing undeniable evidence that LSU is the most fortunate team in history.
LSU vs. Oregon State, 2004: Freshman kicker Alexis Serna misses three extra points as LSU eeks out a 22-21 season-opening win over Oregon State in defense of their 2003 National Championship. Enough said.
LSU vs. Auburn, 2005: Auburn kicker John Vaughn misses FIVE field goals as LSU takes a 20-17 win over Auburn in overtime. To add insult to injury, his last attempt clanked off the left upright in overtime.
To make matters worse, LSU only has to pay the piper every few years for all these miracles.
Most recently, in 2005, Drew Tate of Iowa dropped a 56-yard "Hail Mary" of his own to drown the Tigers 30-25 in the Capital One Bowl. This was a joyous moment.
I couldn't think of a better group for it to happen to than the most fortunate, and most talented, football team in America.
There you have it. If you are a kicker reading this article, cut it out and burn it.
LSU Band Syndrome is highly dangerous to kickers.
It also affects star quarterbacks and tends to result in balls miraculously glancing off helmets.
Next time you see the Tigers in person (read: Nov. 17), don't get your hopes up too high. Fortune always seems to be on their side.
LSU, the luckiest team of all-time?
The All-American blames 'LSU Band Syndrome'
Seth Keshel
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Sports
PrintEmail DoubleClick Any Word Page 1 of 1 After watching Florida roll to four straight wins (including a 30-24 win in Oxford), I prematurely declared the coming Oct. 6 matchup between the Gators and LSU in Baton Rouge as "Game of the Year."
Florida, committing the cardinal sin of overlooking an opponent, subsequently choked at home against Auburn, thus thwarting any hope of a clash of undefeated teams.
For years, I've seen the aformentioned Tigers win games.
Sometimes they come out running the ball straight over an opponent and pound them into submission, and sometimes they'll air it out and put up well over 40 points. Sprinkled in somewhere with all this talent, however, is a bit of great fortune.
I can think of no other team that has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat more than LSU has. I've made the last two Ole Miss trips to Baton Rouge with the U.S. Marine Corps's own Preston Walker, and we've seen and diagnosed what causes LSU's opponents to collapse, either at home or on the road. We've come to call it "LSU Band Syndrome."
Let me explain how this works.
LSU comes out flat, knowing they are the better team. For three-and-a-half quarters, they play unmotivated football. Then, all of a sudden, the LSU band explodes with a stunning rendition of "Hold that Tiger."
It's all over after that.
Demons possess the LSU players while their opponents are stricken with dysentery.
Unusual things seem to happen.
Suddenly, a double-digit lead is lost when the opposing offense abandons what had worked for three quarters and comes up with a playbook like this: run left, run right, run middle, punt.
This epidemic caused much weeping and gnashing of teeth amongst the Ole Miss faithful last season. Reverting to the "Game of the Year," the LSU Band Syndrome cost Florida big-time this year.
Leading 24-14 in the fourth quarter, a rifled pass from Tim Tebow slammed into a receiver's helmet, miraculously falling into an LSU defender's hands, shifting the tide of that game, which LSU went on to win 28-24.
This loss effectively removed the Gators from the national championship picture.
Sound familiar? It should.
Here are other classic examples of LSU Band Syndrome over the last few years:
LSU at Kentucky, 2002: Trailing 30-27 with time enough for one last play, Marcus Randall heaves a 75-yard "Hail Mary" touchdown to Devery Henderson for a 33-30 win.
Although I hated to see this, it was hilarious to see Kentucky students pouring onto the field thinking the Wildcats had won the game.
I'll bet the players who dumped the water cooler on head coach Guy Morriss prematurely felt stupid.
They got what they deserved. This has since been dubbed the "Bluegrass Miracle."
LSU vs. Ole Miss, 2002: With a 13-7 lead in the fourth quarter, Eli Manning's pass in the red zone to Tremaine Turner bounces off Turner's head and is intercepted by LSU, who proceeds to the opposite end zone for the winning score and a 14-13 victory.
LSU at Ole Miss, 2003: Making its famed "kickers" debut, LSU Band Syndrome infects Ole Miss All-American Jonathan Nichols, causing him to miss two relatively easy kicks in a 17-14 Tiger win that wrestled the SEC West from the Rebels' grasp.
Manning also fell on fourth-and-10 with the game hanging in the balance, thus providing undeniable evidence that LSU is the most fortunate team in history.
LSU vs. Oregon State, 2004: Freshman kicker Alexis Serna misses three extra points as LSU eeks out a 22-21 season-opening win over Oregon State in defense of their 2003 National Championship. Enough said.
LSU vs. Auburn, 2005: Auburn kicker John Vaughn misses FIVE field goals as LSU takes a 20-17 win over Auburn in overtime. To add insult to injury, his last attempt clanked off the left upright in overtime.
To make matters worse, LSU only has to pay the piper every few years for all these miracles.
Most recently, in 2005, Drew Tate of Iowa dropped a 56-yard "Hail Mary" of his own to drown the Tigers 30-25 in the Capital One Bowl. This was a joyous moment.
I couldn't think of a better group for it to happen to than the most fortunate, and most talented, football team in America.
There you have it. If you are a kicker reading this article, cut it out and burn it.
LSU Band Syndrome is highly dangerous to kickers.
It also affects star quarterbacks and tends to result in balls miraculously glancing off helmets.
Next time you see the Tigers in person (read: Nov. 17), don't get your hopes up too high. Fortune always seems to be on their side.