re: Outrageous moments in Tiger Stadium history?

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DreadDub -- 1997 - Florida - Student section steals Work 'em Silly sign from 2 Gator fans and rips it to shreds.

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Choupique19 -- We always rehash the story here of the 1997 Florida game and the guy who brought the big Gator sign over by the student section and it got stolen. He looked to the cops for help and they just laughed at him.

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Me Bite -- will never forget this. It was one section and a few rows down from where I was sitting in the student section.

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Big EZ Tiger -- Yeah, he threw it into the student section and everybody ripped it to pieces. It was great.

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I'm smiling to hear some folks remember my sheet-swiping!!. It was quite an adrenaline rush, but I can tell y'all the details if you are interested:

-- I spotted them coming over from around the East Side, 30 or 40 yard line (far-side), near the top (pre-east-side-upper-deck)

-- I told my friend Nick (nicklsu on Tiger Rant) that "there's no way they are coming over to the LSU Student Section to taunt us... where the f#ck do they think they are... Vanderbilt??"... But closer and closer they got, I was watching every step they made as they rounded the curve and got closer.

-- I mean, seriously, we may have lost nine in a row to Florida, including a couple humiliating games, BUT this was STILL the LSU STUDENT SECTION

-- PLEASE?!?!?!

-- We were in our normal seats, around the middle of the Student Section, maybe 1/3 of the way between the goal post and the band (band was in a different location in '97 than now); I grabbed Nick P. and said "back me up"

-- we scurried onto the lower ring walkway and I scooted through the Student Section; I calmly passed, eyes-down, so as to not let them know I knew they existed.

-- I got behind them and they didn't notice me, I was maybe 20 feet back... I trotted down to their location... they were standing on benches with an empty bench between them

-- I hopped over a bench and landed on the empty bench and amazingly, they still didn't notice me - I assume the 10,000 angry students were more on their mind - plus I think Nick was distracting them also, in front but not too close to cause them to react.

-- so now, I approached from behind and I had a big smile because I knew it would be EASY (since I was STILL undetected)

-- I snatched the sheet/sign from behind with every bit of strength I had, but it came out of their grasp so very easily (I thought they were clutching it tightly, but apparently not)

-- I started running, behind them and up... I got a huge lead as I bolted for the safety of the student section (that element of surprise is mighty advantageous)... I became aware of my insurmountable lead on them and I assumed they'd not be charging the students, so I turned around, taunted them and waved the sign at them

-- then I all but dove into the student section and tossed the sheet into the air and it was promptly shredded.

-- they next part ranks slightly behind my wedding day, graduation day, the final space shuttle launch that I watched from KSC countdown clock, and a few other special moments in my life... some huge guy puts me on his shoulders and walks me down to the corner of the student section and you guys all gave me a friggin' wonderful ovation... damn that was cool, thanks!!

-- back in my seats, a really cute girl hugged me and handed me a piece of the sign

-- a few months later, that fragment was hung around my neck for my graduation

John P
Mechanical Engineering
May 1998

P.S. Big EZ Tiger... JP here.. remind me who you are