MONROE, La. – Believe it or not, this is a big football weekend in the football-crazy state of Louisiana. Two major football events will fill the state’s football fans’ schedule on Saturday. At Noon, the LSU Tigers will give fans a sneak peek at the 2021 Tiger football team with their annual spring game. Then at 1:30 fans of the other Baton Rouge team, Southen University will see their team take on in-state rival Grambling in The Bayou Classic.
Okay, the LSU spring game doesn’t really seem out of place. And to be honest, only die-hard fans will really be able to “get into the game”. We do know that Coach Ed Orgeron will give the fans a look at how returning members of the Tiger’s team have fared in the offseason. Yes, there will be a chance to see some of the incoming talent as well.
But, if you’re interested in seeing any wrinkles or changes in the Tigers’ gameplan you can forget it. Coach O and his staff will keep the play calling very mundane. The reason? They don’t want to tip their hand to any of their opponents for the upcoming season. So expect to be blown away by what basically amounts to a glorified practice served up as an appetizer to football-hungry fans in the state.
Also on Saturday will be a game that counts in more ways than one. Sure the Grambling versus Southern game will count on each team’s record for this “unique” spring season of football. But the game, The Bayou Classic, means so much more than football between the state’s most prestigious Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Sure, the Bayou Classic is about bragging rights on the football field but there is also a lot riding on the halftime performances of each school’s band. Both “The World Famed Tiger Band” from Grambling and Southern University’s “Human Jukebox” will be poised to appear as well.
Another thing about The Bayou Classic is this. It’s an important homecoming and reunion weekend for so many people across our state. The game is usually held in New Orleans over Thanksgiving weekend but because of COVID-19 the game was moved to April and the venue was changed to Shreveport.
Kickoff for the Bayou Classic is set for 1:30. NBC Sports Network will have the national coverage of the game. Oh, and if you want to watch the LSU spring game, coverage for that event will begin a Noon on the SEC Network.
While you get yourself ready for what we hope will be an afternoon of exemplary play, let’s take a look back on some of the greatest “oopsie” sports moments in history.
