This has been an up-and-down year for the Tigers’ football team. Though the team suffered two losses at the hands of Southeastern Conference rivals Florida and Auburn, LSU is heading to the Sugar Bowl amid a convoluted BCS decision after USC lost to UCLA at home Saturday. While it is good to see the Tigers are going to the Sugar Bowl, the game will be tainted by an audacious move by Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Blanco thought it would be a good idea to call up representatives of the Orange and Rose bowls and tell them that No. 4 LSU deserves an at-large spot in a BCS bowl. Not only is it inappropriate for government officials to stick their nose into the already complicated BCS system, but Blanco’s past record of snubbing LSU only insults the University when she tries to attach her name to our Tigers. Blanco seems to have decided supporting LSU’s football team and its success is a gubernatorial matter, though she has previously done nothing to hide her preference for her alma mater, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. She even held a tailgate in Baton Rouge for ULL on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion – the symbol of her post as Louisiana’s governor. It should go without saying, but since she does not seem to be aware of it we will say it anyway – Blanco has more important things to deal with as the governor of a hurricane-ravaged state than college football. She ought to be spending her time leading the state as opposed to speaking on behalf of a school she has torpedoed in the past. Blanco removed two members of the LSU System Board of Supervisors in July when they voiced their disapproval of having UL System President Sally Clausen compete for outgoing LSU System President William Jenkin’s job after he retires. Blanco appears to care about what is in LSU’s best interest only when the school is making national headlines. But when we are quietly going about our business, her only concern is promoting ULL. Blanco, thanks for your calls to the Orange and Rose bowls. But our Tigers do not need help from the government to earn a respectable bowl game. Your phone calls only embarrassed us in front of the entire country and cheapened our place in the Sugar Bowl. LSU would appreciate you returning to the job of governing our state. Leave football to the Tigers. They seem to have done quite well without your help thus far.
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