Tiger Stadium is one of the premier venues to watch college football in the country.The stadium was ranked the No. 4 student section in the country by ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit in his ninth annual “Herbie Awards,” and he’s a man who’s been to his fair share of big-time stadiums both as a player and an analyst.But even with such high praise and reverence from the college football world, the student section still has its problems, and here are my top five.1. THE “OH-WEE-OH” CHANTWhat’s the big deal here?It’s a silly chant and dance and also a complete mystery to me how it even became popular.When people do it, they look like morons rocking to and fro like a gaggle of purple-and-gold Weeble Wobbles droning on in repetitive tones.What’s even lamer than the chant is the ever-present battle between the “You Suck”-ers and those who yell “Tigers.”This just brings a new element into the fracas because Tiger Band threatens to discontinue it on a seemingly biweekly basis — as if it matters.People are going to yell both either way, and they’re probably going to do the dance with or without Tiger Band, too.So Tiger Band — do it or don’t, but you’re not going to control the majority of the student section.2. PERVASIVE VULGARITYI use profanity probably as much as the next guy, but seriously, the student section can make anything offensive if it tries hard enough — which it usually does.It’s funny the first few times, but it gets old in a hurry.Even the beloved “Neck” got vulgarized Saturday night, so by my count that’s at least four band-accompanied songs people are making profane.The cursing generally isn’t even the issue. It’s the grade school-level intellect associated with the cursing.When one says, “Kick their ass and beat the shit out of them,” it’s pretty redundant considering if someone is kicking ass, it’s almost a guarantee they’re also beating the shit out their opponent.3. BOOING THE TEAM FOR STUPID REASONSBooing is an inevitable occurrence at sporting events because somewhere during the course of the game, something’s going to happen that can evoke no other reasonable response.Be it a pick six, bad call or poor clock management, the boos will come.But student section denizens and Tiger Stadium at large should pick and choose their spots because sometimes they sound downright stupid.Not going for it on fourth and short in the third quarter when your team is up by less than a touchdown is not boo-worthy.There’s a difference between having a gutsy coach and a dumb coach, and kicking a field goal and getting three points is a lot smarter than risking a stop and ruining a lengthy drive.4. BEACH BALL ACTIONFootball games aren’t just sporting events — they’re parties.And no party is a party without games.Beach balls fill this void in Tiger Stadium and give fans something to do in the low points of action during the game.But once again, it’s about picking your spots.The first beach ball of the season went up Saturday night during the third quarter and the jubilation was apparent, all while an injured player was laying on the field.Vanderbilt sophomore tackle James Williams had broken his ankle on the previous play and was down on the field with his football season finished while hearing cheers and boos from a sizable portion of the north endzone’s fans.I know they weren’t cheering for the injury, but it was still an odd scene and a sign of poor etiquette.5. “LIVING ON A PRAYER”If you’ll allow me to appropriate a rhyme from rapper Kanye West, Bon Jovi is bad — real bad, Michael Jackson. “Living on a Prayer” makes me mad — real mad, Joe Jackson.Aside from the fact the song is older than most LSU students, it’s perhaps one of the most inappropriate football songs imaginable.The lyrics go, “It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not. We’ve got each other and that’s a lot. For love, we’ll give it a shot.”It does make a difference if “we” make it or not. You play to win the game, according to former NFL coach Herm Edwards.If it didn’t matter, then no one would care to play or watch the game. Playing “Living on a Prayer” just doesn’t make any sense.Maybe I’m over-thinking all of this, and these things aren’t even a big deal.I guess it’s just nice to have something to think about besides wondering when the next pick six or blown coverage is going to happen.It looks like those problems have been at least temporarily fixed.
 
 
 
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