Some avid football fans do whatever is necessary to see theirbeloved team compete year in and year out. Junior Blake Buissonputs the avid football fan to rest.
Buisson, from Thousand Oaks, CA., recently decided to get hisnecessary dose of football by transferring to LSU for the fallsemester. After spending his first two years at the University ofCalifornia and loading up on course credits, Buisson said he wantedto experience a semester at LSU.
“Cal is fun, but I knew how sweet LSU was,” Buissonsaid. “It’s college, and you’re supposed to havefun and drink and party. I just wanted to have fun.”
Following his high school graduation, Buisson had his collegechoices narrowed down to two — LSU and Cal.
Choosing Cal in the end, Buisson said he made his decision basedon the fact he was too familiar with LSU.
“Coming out of high school, I knew what to expect fromLSU,” Buisson said. “I didn’t know what to expectfrom Cal.”
Buisson’s familiarity with LSU stems from hisparent’s roots in New Orleans, where both were born. As achild, Blake became accustomed to his family’s annual trip toBaton Rouge for a football game.
One of Buisson’s fondest memories included beingsurrounded by the drinking scene in an SUV when he was younger.
“There were five guys in the Blazer, so I got stuck in theback,” Buisson said. “I was just their bartender in theback seat.”
Buisson also said he learned to hate Cal’s cross-staterival USC at a young age.
“I grew up hating USC because my dad grew up as anold-school LSU fan,” Buisson said. “And my mom went toUCLA, so we don’t like USC from that standpointeither.”
Now a full-time student at LSU, Buisson only has to step out ofhis on-campus apartment to get the LSU football experience.
Yet convincing his mother to let him come to Louisiana for asemester did not come as easy.
Janice Buisson said she initially had some hesitations inletting her son transfer.
“The mother in me was concerned with it,” Janicesaid. “But he’s 20. He needed to take a little risk anddo it now.”
In order to attend LSU, Blake was forced to officially cut offties with Cal and apply to LSU. And at the beginning of nextsemester, Blake will need to re-apply in order to get back intoCal.
“She just wanted to make sure that I could actuallytransfer back to Cal,” Blake. “She needed to know thatthey’d let me back in.”
After getting ahead of his credits at Cal and maintaining a goodstanding with LSU thus far, Blake said his parents are pleased withthe way things are going.
“As long as I’m having a good time, they’repretty content,” Blake said. “And my grades aregood.”
Having already experienced Saturdays in Baton Rouge, Blake saidthere are some notable differences between gameday at Cal andLSU.
“At LSU, football takes up the weekend,” Blake said.”At Cal, you might barbecue for an hour then go to the game15 minutes later.”
Yet according to Buisson, LSU does have its downfalls.
“At Cal, everything is within five blocks,” Blakesaid. “That’s the biggest downside of LSU [in not beingas close knit].”
Blake’s story gained national attention after a friend inCalifornia was overheard by ESPN writer Pat Forde discussingBlake’s transition to LSU. His story was featured Oct. 13 onESPN.com in Forde’s weekly column.
And it only seems ironic that the season Buisson elected toleave Cal for LSU was the same season Cal has maintained a top-tenranking while LSU dropped to as low as No. 24.
Yet Blake said that if it were to ever come down to Cal and LSU,he’s have to stick with his original team.
“I’d root for LSU,” Blake said. “Butthat’s because I’ve always been an LSU fan.”