Being a senior in college brings on so many emotions. Seniors will experience many “lasts” in their time before graduation.
This Saturday, LSU vs UAB will be the last home game of the 2022 football season. And the last time in the student section for many graduating seniors, including biology major Ben Neck.
“I will miss being in the student section,” Neck said. “The stuff you see and hear on gamedays in there is just different. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting by someone you’ve never met, they’ll be your best friend by the end of the game.”
Entering Death Valley and feeling the energy in the stadium, especially in the student section, is something students carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Some students’ LSU football stories don’t start with their freshman year at LSU.
Neck, for instance, attended games at Death Valley from a young age. One of the first times Neck walked into Tiger Stadium was for a McNeese game back in 2010. Neck said he remembers everyone yelling “Tiger Bait” while they walked in because his Lake Charles native dad was wearing McNeese attire.
Political science senior Devin Scott also remembers his first time experiencing Tiger Stadium.
“My first memory of walking into Tiger Stadium is as an 11-year-old kid at a summer camp,” Scott said. “I was in awe. I knew at that moment I wanted to spend my Saturdays in Death Valley.”
On the other hand, some students’ first time experiencing Death Valley was when they started college at LSU.
Fashion merchandising senior Juliana Marie Mossop said she spent her first game with her freshman year roommates. Mossop said they were all from out of state, so it was an overwhelming yet simultaneously thrilling experience.
While the past four years of football have been filled with many highs and lows, students Neck and Scott said the 2022 Alabama game was their favorite memory.
Neck said while he has been lucky to attend many home games in the past, he believes the 2022 Alabama game will be the best game he’ll ever attend.
“Watching LSU beat Bama at home was by far the best experience of my life,” Scott said.
Scott said it still hasn’t sunk in that this weekend will be the last home game he attends as a student. He said he’ll miss the tailgates the most after graduating from LSU.
Mossop said she will be moving back north after college and doesn’t know the next time she’ll be back in Louisiana. She said it feels like this shouldn’t be the last game — that it still feels like her freshmen year.
Neck said he’ll miss the camaraderie and joy that comes with attending a game with a large group of friends. He agrees that Saturday’s game will seem bittersweet.
“I’m very sad this will be my last home game as a student,” Neck said. “I will never stop going to the games, regardless of my age, but it won’t be the same not sitting in the student section.”
LSU vs UAB kicks off at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Tiger Stadium.
LSU football fans sing together on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, before LSU’s 32-31 victory over Alabama in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
