School spirit was abound Friday night as hundreds gathered outside Tiger Stadium for the traditional pep rally preceding the University’s Homecoming football game. Students, staff and alumni showed up in preparation for the Tigers’ 58-10 trouncing of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. Alumni brought their children to watch the Tiger Band and LSU Cheerleaders salute the football team and its fans by doing the classic football cheers, from “Hey Baby!” to the Chinese Bandits. LSU football coach Les Miles thanked the supporters. “The team enjoys representing LSU and enjoys taking the field in Tiger Stadium,” he told the crowd. “There’s a real debt that we like to pay every Saturday night. We understand when we play for you that it’s a very enjoyable thing for you to watch.” Senior linebacker Luke Sanders took the opportunity to rile up the crowd in anticipation for the game. “It’s an honor to be out here representing the football team, and I’m glad for all the support we have on Saturday nights,” he said. “[Louisiana] Tech thinks they’re coming here and can make a statement for their program, but they don’t know that we own the state around here.” Chancellor Sean O’Keefe also addressed the crowd. “When all of our fellow Louisianians come to visit us tomorrow, we’re going to show them that all of us in this community are winners,” O’Keefe said. “This team is counting on all of us to support them tomorrow and every single week when they’re out there. We’ve got to show them the same level of class they show us all the time.” O’Keefe led a “Geaux Tigers” chant and introduced Kenneth Brown, HGTV network personality and University alum, as the Homecoming parade’s first grand marshal “in quite some time.” The crowd also met the nominees for the 2007 Homecoming Court. University alumnus Jay Moore said he was glad to be back in the campus spirit after graduating this past May. “I figured I had to try out this whole ‘coming home for Homecoming’ thing,” he said. “I figured they didn’t call it that for kicks and giggles, so here I am. I haven’t been gone long, but I miss this place more than anything. And I’m glad to be back.” The pep rally kicked off a busy Homecoming weekend, with a Lady Tigers basketball game immediately following the event. The National Pan-Hellenic Council hosted a step show at the River Center Friday night, in addition to a block party on Sorority Row and a party at the Natatorium later in the evening.
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Tiger fans fired up at Homecoming pep rally
November 11, 2007