The chant rained down from the student section like a tidal wave: “F— you, Saban! F— you, Saban!”
It was a disgusting display from a fan base so often heralded as the best in college football.
Freshman defensive tackle Davon Godchaux lay on his back, reeling from an injury. Both sidelines went silent as they put the adrenaline rush of overtime on pause. But how did thousands of students fill that void? By chanting the nastiest of obscenities at a coach who was revered here ten years ago.
The LSU faithful have a love-hate relationship with Saban – he loves Tuscaloosa now, and Tiger fans just hate that. Jumping ship for the NFL after the 2004 season and returning to coach a division rival in 2007 still leave a bitter taste. But like it or not, this program still has Saban’s fingerprints all over it.
Saban returned LSU to relevance with a winning campaign in 2000. He turned around a stagnant team with a national championship and two SEC titles in his five-year tenure. And then like rain clouds above Tiger Stadium, he was gone. Since taking the reins at Alabama, Saban has coached the Tide to three national championships and four division titles. This includes a 6-3 record against his former team.
I understand how LSU fans can despise Saban’s success and ask what could have been. Even with a gem of a coach like Les Miles, fans expect more than a 10-win season. They want vengeance over the man who betrayed them.
But could students even read the social cues around them? The F-word is universally vile, used only in extreme circumstances or not at all. How could they casually toss the word around and send it reverberating over national airwaves?
The student section has been walking a tightrope for years with vulgar chants. As a wide-eyed freshman, those words were jarring to hear during my first home game. My orientation leaders taught me first, second and third down cheers. They didn’t teach me the unwritten chants, but they’re surely joining along with the masses when they take their badges off.
The University will bring in an estimated $109 million of revenue this year from athletics. A $25,000 fine for storming the field again is laughable – fans can make up the difference by buying a game program. But the price is greater when networks start to silence the country’s loudest stadium. ESPN and CBS have threatened to pull their microphones out of the student section. More importantly, donors may pull their financial support and fans will choose to keep their families out of Baton Rouge. The gameday environment is quickly becoming toxic.
Thousands of students crossed a line that has been degraded for years. But as always, it started with one person. One clown who thought their ticket bought more than a seat, but also the platform to chant that obscenity. That person empowered hundreds more to set common decency aside and mar the tremendous environment that intimidated Alabama for four quarters.
The student section earned its best-in-the-nation title due to its awareness. Years of shutdown defenses have trained fans that the Tigers thrive on noise. But that awareness flew away into the chilly Saturday night with one F-bomb after another. The injured Godchaux needed support from his strongest allies as medical personnel responded to his injury. Instead, students looked past the two teams on the field to personally attack a man who was so recently one of our own.
Soon, this event will be forgotten, only to be resurrected by the occasional Google search. But instead of rehashing Saban’s history, we need to be mindful of our own. It cannot be ignored and it should not be celebrated.
Saban left Baton Rouge early Sunday morning. He’ll be back in Death Valley in two years, give or take a few days. But this student section will be here waiting next September. When the next freshman class arrives for their first season, we will have a chance to change.
There’s only so much the University administration and league offices can do. This time, the responsibility to exemplify the best of Tiger football begins with us.
Kourage Kundahl is an 18-year-old mass communication freshman from Pensacola, Florida. You can reach him on Twitter @kourageFS.
