LSU students, take out your phones.
Text your friends. Text your neighbors. Text your dog. Somebody has Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron’s phone number, and they need to give it up.
LSU once had a strong tradition of bombarding opposing players’ cellphones with vile, vulgar and hate-filled text messages. Students held the reputation with pride, and it became part of an away team’s experience in Tiger Stadium.
What happened?
LSU students have not circulated an opposing player’s cellphone number since 2009, when Florida’s John Brantley and Riley Cooper felt the vitriol of LSU fandom. The past two seasons have passed without a single digit making the rounds.
That trend must stop.
Think back to 2007, when Tim Tebow became the first victim of LSU’s cellular exploitation. I’m sure the filthy phrases he received violated every one of his Christian values, and he probably had to look up most of their meanings.
In 2008, students ramped up their rage, this time targeting Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno and Alabama’s John Parker Wilson. The texts to Moreno came in such large quantity, he deactivated his phone before the game.
I keep Wilson in a special place in my heart. He was my first victim, and I fondly remember receiving the text message with his phone number.
I sat in my dorm and crafted the perfect statement that would let Wilson know how all of LSU felt. I warned him to be careful stepping on the field, for a certain LSU defensive lineman would likely insert something of his into one of Wilson’s orifices during the game.
I like to think he trembled in fear after receiving that one.
The 2009 season meant more mean messages for Florida Gators. I still have Cooper’s number saved in my phone — it’s no longer in service.
Naturally, many oppose the practice. They call it
unsportsmanlike and distasteful.
I call it part of the rivalry. Why wait until the opponent enters the stadium to voice your displeasure when you can let them know a week in advance?
Some worry the texts serve as bulletin-board material for the other team’s locker room. They fear the recipients will play with chips on their shoulders and aim to show up the students who called them out.
That’s happened in the past. Both Moreno and Tebow scored touchdowns against LSU and made cellphone gestures to the student sections.
That only proves the text messages worked.
While they should focus on the game, Tebow and Moreno had the students on their mind. They made it a point to taunt the fans, and they let their emotions take control.
So, LSU, I challenge you. Let’s bring back the text message
tradition by filling McCarron’s inbox with Tiger pride.
For some background information on the Crimson Tide quarterback, McCarron went to St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile, Ala. Look him up on Google, Whitepages or Facebook.
His number is out there, and you have 24 hours to find it. I know you won’t let me down.
Hunter Paniagua is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Houston.
 
____
Contact Hunter Paniagua at [email protected]