A live tiger returned to the sidelines of Tiger Stadium for the first time since 2015 after months of Gov. Jeff Landry publicly advocating to bring back the tradition.
As the LSU band lined up to march onto the field while playing the university’s fight song, the tiger was wheeled out in a cage that was attached to a purple and gold truck.
A bright light was shone on the tiger while an introductory video played over the stadium video boards. The tiger was on the field for less than 10 minutes before being wheeled back into the interior of the stadium.
The tiger did not roar and there was no banging on its cage, as had been done when the tradition was first started.
The tiger was not LSU’s official mascot, Mike VII. The tiger’s legal name is Omar Bradley, and it was transported to LSU from Florida.