Just got home from another great game at the PMAC. This is going to be a special team guys. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, do it. It's inexpensive, it's a great environment, and a great chance to spend a little time on LSU's beautiful campus.

Aside from the action on the court, which was awesome, we saw a ton of football players hanging out and cheering on their B-ball counterparts. It was really good to see them supporting the guys who play across the street. Leonard Fournette, Brandon Harris, Malachi Dupre and many others. They were taking photos with little kids and really showing a lot of humility and appreciation. The look on those young fans faces as they posed next to their favorite players touched me in a really big way.

What struck me the most, particularly as a guy who is getting older, was how young these athletes are. It's easy for us to watch a game on TV, seeing them all padded up in their uni's looking like monsters, and forget who we're truly screaming for (or at). The fact is, when all the gear is off and they're in street clothes, they pretty much look like the teenagers that they are. For some reason it really hit me how young and impressionable these kids are, and it kinda broke my heart thinking about how they must take media criticism, boos, social media blasts, and not even to mention some of the ugly stuff they also probably pick up on.

We've all dropped a few F bombs from the crowd or at the TV at some point. I know I've blown a few gaskets and let out some anger more times than I can count. From a distance, when these guys are just helmets and jersey numbers, it is easy to become desensitized to the fact that there are teenage kids under those helmets and jerseys, and today I felt like a real scumbag for some of the things I or my viewing partners have said during emotional moments.

At the end of the day, I really believe that there is nothing these guys want to do more at this stage of their life than put on a great performance, play inspired football, and give these passionate LSU fans the victories they desire. The vast majority of them will never receive a paycheck (or at least a big NFL paycheck) when their college years are over. When they are done, their memories of what they were able to do on the field, and how they were treated by the fans, will be what they remember.

I want these guys to be put in the best possible position to succeed. Coaches will come and go. And they will be paid handsomely for doing their job, whether they are successful or not. If changes are needed, then it will happen in due course. I believe we as fans have every right to be disappointed when the guys making the millions put these kids in embarrassing situations in front of hundreds of thousands- and sometimes millions- of viewers. They need and deserve leadership, guidance, and smart planning from their ADULT leaders. Will they make mistakes? Sure. They're kids. But if they're getting the guidance they require at this age, then more often than not they will succeed.

From this day forward, I'm going to make a sincere effort to save my curse words, derogatory remarks, and vitriol for the guys who are being paid to perform a professional service. And when they don't do their job, make every effort to consider the feelings of the kids who are basically trying to do what they are told on that field, while working their asses off between games. If nothing else, these kids need our support, especially when things are bad, kinda like now.

Thanks Tigers for doing what most of us did not or could not do. Putting yourself out there on a huge stage, warts and all, for the entertainment of others. Play with pride regardless of the game plan, which you cannot control, and remember that 99% of us fans appreciate what you are doing, and wish you nothing but championships and trophies for as long as you wear the Purple and Gold.

I know, too long, but I feel better now.

23 ...

179