Most nights, being a sports fan is completely illogical.
Obsessing over people one has never met, analyzing positions months before the season has started and drinking heavily in honor of a game every Saturday may not appear sane. Those who don’t follow sports probably wonder why such foolishness is repeated every year.
Those people got their answer Saturday night.
The remarkable thing about LSU’s grinding 10-7 upset against Ole Miss is it won’t be remembered for one singular event or play. The game featured too many storylines for a simple game recap or a two minute “SportsCenter” segment.
Great games like this are sort of like great films. When you rewatch a great film, you remember most of it, but you also find tremendous scenes or lines you somehow had forgotten. When LSU fans rewatch this game, they may find themselves in a similar situation.
So now that everyone’s jaws are off the floor and their minds are sober again, those storylines need to be put in perspective. This is the game a fan prays for, and his or her memory shouldn’t be clogged.
There were the trials of the first half, as all breaks went the Rebels’ way and LSU missed every chance to take a lead. The Rebels were suppose to be the ones who made mistakes and kept the Tigers in it, and fears LSU had blown its opportunity to win crept in fans’ minds.
Those fears didn’t show in the players, and I’m not sure if that’s a sign of maturity or a bunch of guys too young to have perspective. Whatever it was, the Tigers knew their dominance on both sides of the line was no fluke and they could last all four quarters.
The third quarter was traumatizing for fans, with the offense and special teams doing everything to give Ole Miss points and the defense answering the call. Interceptions, shanked punts and bad returns all pointed to the Rebels making their move, but the crowd noise and defensive pressure balanced things out.
Sophomore linebacker Kendell Beckwith and senior defensive end Jermauria Rasco had the games of their lives, and it’ll be a shame if they’re forgotten. The late-game heroics in the fourth quarter were only the result of the defensive efforts in the third.
There was senior tight end Logan Stokes, who once played at a community college 80 minutes from Ole Miss, catching the game-winning touchdown. The catch was the first of Stokes’ career and the first pass play after 12 runs to start the drive, but logic was well out the door at that point of the game.
The game ended with senior defensive back Ronald Martin making an interception only plays after his previous interception was called back on a pass interference call. It was a change of pace considering the way Martin has struggled in his career.
There was the utter confusion along the Ole Miss sidelines, as the crowd noise made the Rebels repeatedly run perplexing plays. Coach Hugh Freeze looked puzzled late in the game, and Martin’s interception was a result of senior quarterback Bo Wallace losing his composure.
Then there was Les Miles, a day after his mother died, making sure the team would be physical enough to play a top-5 team. I’ve never lost a parent, so I can’t measure the will Miles possesed to block out stress and keep his mind on the game.
Fans who attended the game will recall or rewatch it and hopefully they remember every moment. They’ll remember where they sat and remember the tension they felt until the final whistle.
Most of all, they’ll remember the logic of being fans.
Tommy Romanach is a 22-year old mass communication senior from Dallas, Texas.