Director of LSU Bands Frank Wickes and Drum Major Robert Dowie said the traditional version of “Tiger Rag” will not return despite student opinion.
The song was removed from the pre-game lineup because of time constraints and implications of vulgarity. Associate Director of Bands Linda Moorhouse gave a thorough explanation in Sept. 2006 for the song modification.
“We’re not proud that people say [asshole] during our school songs,” she said. “But timing is first and foremost and everybody loves “Hey Fighting Tigers” too.”
The pre-game show for the upcoming football season has no planned changes according to Roy King, assistant director of music.
More than a year after the song was banned, some students still feel strongly about putting the song back in pre-game. The controversy over the song in the 2006 football season proved the definition of University tradition varies from person to person.
Jessie Hebert, biological sciences senior, said the “asshole” chant has become a tradition.
“It is disappointing it is not coming back but students will continue the chant anyway. The vulgarity does take away from the original song,” he said. “And some people think it puts a bad name on LSU, but I say it anyway.”
Electrical engineering freshman Marcus Lasseigne agreed the “asshole” chant is not going anywhere.
“Students are going to sing it either way, whether the University brings it back or not,” said the Tiger fan.
Students were not the only ones chiming in during last season’s football pre-game show. Having attended many games in Tiger Stadium, marketing freshman Dustin Vutera said his grandfather and dad sing it all the time at the games.
Primarily chanted in the pre-game show before players even come onto the field, defensive end Anthony Zehyoue said he never actually heard the chant when he was in the game.
“Our student body chanted “new formation” in regard to their disapproval of our punt unit formation. So, you can hear a lot of things,” he said.
Zehyoue is indecisive on whether “Tiger Rag” should return.
“Students will express their emotions in a variety of ways,” he said.
Accounting senior Jeremy Bunting is a redshirt quarterback. Like Zehyoue, he feels students used more than just the “asshole” chant to get their opinions across. Everyone knows when officials make a poor call, he said.
“You can for sure hear when people yell “bullshit” in response to referee calls. That word is probably more pronounced throughout the stadium than the other,” he said.
Bunting agreed Tiger fans yell out multiple things to voice their opinions. He said not all of them are vulgar, but they show the “fighting tiger” within the fans.
Wide receiver Joshua McManus acknowledged referee chants are the same everywhere and will never stop. The communications senior knows “Tiger Rag” is not coming back but said he would not mind if it did.
“That sort of thing isn’t offensive to me and honestly is part of the pageantry of college football – 92,000 fans, mainly [the] student section, chanting the same thing, regardless of vulgarity, is a special thing that most schools share,” he said.
McManus said while parents might not want their kids to be exposed to this type of language, University fans use even more vulgar expressions.
“They will be sorely disappointed with some other choice words fellow fans will undoubtedly yell,” he said. “As far as wanting it to come back, I honestly didn’t know it left. So I guess I’m indifferent. However, fan chants are a plus in my opinion.”
——Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]