Cannon fired before kickoff

Never heard this before but the Tigers name did originate with an artillery battalion if I recall correctly.

I remember seeing that a few years ago, but thought it was new at the time...not a longstanding tradition

We switched to cannon fire during the game.

I clicked this thread thinking it would be about somebody firing Billy Cannon just before the game started

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I clicked this thread thinking it would be about somebody firing Billy Cannon just before the game started

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At least I am not the only one

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The first time they did it there was no warning, and the fricking thing was pointed directly at my section in the EU, and half the section looked to be diving out of the way! It was crazy.

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Yeah, that shite was so stupid and pointless. All it did was startle people. The significance of the cannon was lost on me, but maybe there is some

Better yet:

nope

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...the Tigers name did originate with an artillery battalion if I recall correctly.

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The team moniker comes from the Civil War era "Louisiana Tigers" battalion. Louisiana troops became known as "Tigers' in part because of their fierce fighting style, but also because the Washington Artillery of New Orleans...which was a part of the Louisiana contingent... featured a Tiger logo. The Washington Artillery was made up of well-to-do volunteers, and they had fancier uniforms compared to most Rebel volunteers, so they stood out.

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The name “Louisiana Tigers” evolved from a Confederate volunteer company named the Tiger Rifles, which was organized in New Orleans in 1861 as part of a battalion commanded by Major Chatham Roberdeau Wheat. The company wore colorful Zouave uniforms. As the war progressed, Wheat's entire battalion became known as Tigers. That name was eventually applied to all of the Louisiana troops of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

LSU’s snarling tiger can be linked to yet another famous Confederate unit, the Washington Artillery of New Orleans, now the 141st Field Artillery stationed at Jackson Barracks. This artillery unit traces its history back to the 1830s, and uses a logo that features a snarling tiger's head. The tiger was attached to that unit in 1857 by its commander, James Burgess Walton.

Both the Louisiana Tigers of Wheat’s Battalion and the Washington Artillery first gained fame at the Battle of First Manassas on July 21, 1861. Major David French Boyd, first president of LSU after the war, had fought with the Louisiana troops in Virginia and knew the reputation of both the Tiger Rifles and the Washington Artillery.

Thus when LSU football teams entered the gridiron battlefields in their fourth year of intercollegiate competition, they tagged themselves as the “Tigers.” In 1955 LSU’s Fourth-Quarter Ball Club expanded the name “Tigers” into the current nickname, “Fighting Tigers.”

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Washington Artillery

Please note that the Tiger insignia of the Washington Artillery dates back to before the Mexican War, where the Washington Artillery served with distinction with the US Army.

I was debating on making a thread the other day and ask when they stopped.

I know for a fact they used to fire a cannon a few years ago. HAven't noticed it in a while though