Chants of “Fear the Hat” could be heard down Nicholson Drive as about 150 fans marched Wednesday evening to show their support for LSU football coach Les Miles.
Monday’s retirement announcement from Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr has caused rampant speculation that Miles will leave LSU to return to his alma mater.
Steve Callender helped organize the “March for Miles” event with a group of fans on the LSU fan message board Tigerdroppings.com.
Fans congregated in the Tiger Stadium parking lot and marched to Walk-On’s, the location of Miles’ weekly radio show. Police briefly blocked traffic on Nicholson so fans could cross the road and walk along bike path on the opposite side.
“This isn’t an effort to beg Les Miles to stay,” Callender said. “We’re just showing him some appreciation. He had a home once inMichigan, but his home is here now.”
Callender said he was confident Miles knew about the event.
“If he doesn’t know about it, he’s had his head in the sand,” Callender said. “It’s the talk of the town.”
Miles was aware of the march and even observed from a distance. He heard some of the chants as he exited his vehicle, out of fans’ view, near the Athletic Administration building shortly after 6:30 p.m.
“It’s wonderful, and I certainly appreciate their efforts,” Miles told The Daily Reveille. “It’s not really necessary, but I hope they have fun.”
William Eunice, an 11-year-old LSU football fan, said he attended the march after hearing about it on the radio.
Eunice and his mother Anne attend church with the Miles family at The Chapel on the Campus. William Eunice even teaches Miles’ 4-year-old daughter Macy Grace in her Sunday school class.
“He has quite a decision to make,” he said. “I think he just needs to focus on now and not the future, though.”
William Eunice said he understands Miles is a Michigan alumnus and may have emotional ties to his former school.
“He would probably be happy there, so I wouldn’t be mad if he left,” he said. “It’s just a game.”
LSU fan Rickey Eiermann said he thinks Miles will stay at LSU.
“That’s why we’re here … to keep him here,” Eiermann said. “But I couldn’t blame him if he left.”
Eiermann was toting a bag of eight white baseball caps, similar to the signature hat Miles wears on the sidelines. Eiermann hoped Miles would sign the hats after his Walk-On’s show.
“It’s all about the phrase ‘Fear the Hat,'” he said. “I’m giving these to my nephews as Christmas gifts.”
Miles also received support from the Romano family, all donning LSU jerseys. Sisters Alyssa, 5, and Brooke, 7, made a sign that read, “We[heart] ya Les!”
When asked what she would tell Miles if she could speak with him, Brooke responded with one simple message: “Don’t leave.”