With only five days to geaux until the LSU Football season officially kicks off, it’s time for me to look back at my five favorite memories from the 2017 season. Every year there are a handful of memories that stand out from the others, but let me tell you, there are always a lot to choose from!
I enjoy writing this post each season, because it reminds me of all the amazing opportunities I have working for the Tigers, and it excites me knowing that I have another season ahead of me to fill with even more memories. Here’s to season No. 7!
YOU CAN READ MY TOP 5 LSU FOOTBALL MEMORIES FROM 2016 HERE!
5. FLORIDA + TENNESSEE GAMES
One of the things on my bucket-list is to watch the Tigers play in every SEC stadium. In 2017, I was able to knock two stadiums off my list AND watch LSU win in both of them. The Florida game is always one of my favorite games on the schedule, and there is a ton of football history between these two teams. It took me 30 years, but I finally experienced my first game at The Swamp. We had just lost the weekend before and needed a big win. It was early. It was hot. It was so humid. It was everything I expected. And we won.
It’s hard to check the SEC East stadiums off of my list, because we don’t play all the teams each year. I was so excited to see Tennessee on our schedule last season knowing I would get to experience Neyland Stadium in the fall. The last time LSU played the Vols was in 2011, so I knew this opportunity wasn’t going to come around again for a while. Despite horrendous weather conditions (I sat in the press box so didn’t get a drop of rain on me!), the Tigers won AND I got to meet Smokey. And Coach O gave an epic halftime interview. It was a solid day.
4. INTERVIEWING ALEX BREGMAN
I am so thankful that my job allows me to interview so many interesting people and former Tigers on a regular basis. I have interviewed some big names over the years, but when Alex Bregman showed up on the sidelines, I’ll admit that I was very excited and a smidge nervous. Not only was Bregman a standout baseball player at LSU, but he had also just won the world series with the Houston Astros after the city was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Bregman is quickly becoming one of the most popular faces in baseball and is representing LSU along the way.
3. THE COMEBACK GAME
LSU was coming off a very emotional win at Florida before hosting 10th-ranked Auburn in Tiger Stadium. After only 17 minutes of play, Auburn was up 20-0 over LSU. Things were not looking good, but we came back to score 20 unanswered points – overcoming LSU’s largest home deficit against an SEC opponent in history. The Tigers won 27-23 thanks in part to a stellar catch by Russell Gage and a punt return for a touchdown by DJ Chark. This was a fun one to celebrate!
This game also holds a special place in the hearts of two families that I met during this weekend. I put together one of my favorite stories ever about the Perry and Boswell families and their unique connection to the LSU-Auburn game. You can read more about them here.
YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THE COMEBACK GAME HERE!
2. PLAYING BYU IN NEW ORLEANS
A week before the 2017 season opened, Hurricane Harvey devastated my hometown of Houston, Texas. We were scheduled to open the season playing BYU in Houston, but plans changed since NRG Stadium was being used for disaster relief. The game was moved to New Orleans and no one skipped a beat. If any fanbase knows how to handle a hurricane, it’s LSU and South Louisiana. It was truly remarkable to see the city of New Orleans and the LSU community come together to help Houston with flood relief while also putting together a major college football game in very little time. People stick together down here, and we are reminded of that often. Also, opening the season by shutting out the Cougars 27-0 wasn’t too bad either!
1. ENSMINGER NAMED OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
There was no way any other moment was going to beat out this one! I have worked for Steve Ensminger for six years, and there are not many better feelings than watching someone you believe in achieve one of their ultimate goals. Obviously LSU Football is extremely special to me, but its the people that I have met along the way here that truly make this place home. Coach Ensminger and his family are some of those people, and they have become family to me too. After breaking records as the interim OC in 2016, I can’t wait to see what the season has in store for our offense!
— LAGNIAPPE —
As always, a season provides WAY more than five memories, and even though this blog post is dedicated to my five favorite moments, I can’t leave the following out.
2007 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REUNION
We celebrated the 10-year reunion of the 2007 National Championship team by bringing the players back for a weekend full of LSU Football. I was in school for the Tigers’ last championship win, and it was so much fun to catch up with old friends on the team and Coach Miles. It was great to watch everyone reconnect after a decade and celebrate such a special season.
DOUBLE NO. 18’S
Coach O let the cat out of the bag earlier in the spring, giving the jersey to Christian LaCouture, but that actually led to an unexpected No. 18 announcement during fall camp. To everyone’s surprise, a second No. 18 jersey was awarded to fullback JD Moore. Moore came to LSU as a walk-on, earned the starting fullback spot, received a scholarship AND kept a 4.0 while majoring in Architecture. To see the surprise on his face and hear how much the jersey meant to him was a very emotional moment.
7 LSU PLAYERS DRAFTED TO THE NFL
This is a story that NEVER gets old, and fortunately for us, this is a common theme each year. LSU has more players in the NFL than any other university in the country. We had another seven Tigers get drafted after the 2017 season, and that’s why we are #NFLSU.
As always, I’m here to keep you in the loop with everything LSU Football related throughout the entire season! You can find me here, on Twitter, on Facebook and on Instagram with consistent updates throughout the season.
GEAUX TIGERS!
