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LSU fans take over Seattle
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:12 pm
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:12 pm
The invasion is under way. Jake Landry, a Louisiana native who lives in Seattle, saw the unmistakeable evidence early and often this week of LSU's trip to the Pacific Northwest for the season-opening game Saturday night at the University of Washington.
"Some of these guys are so freaking big," Landry said by telephone this morning. "I have never seen people so thick. They are huge. They're like a whole other breed of human beings."
Note: He hasn't seen the LSU players yet.
"No, these are the fans," he said. "I saw some guys that were like 6-5 and probably 300 pounds, and it was all muscle. They're just so big."
LSU opens its fifth season with Les Miles in charge, taking on the Washington Huskies at 9:30 p.m. (CDT) Saturday in Husky Stadium in Seattle.
It's LSU's most faraway place to play a football game, but that hasn't stopped its fans from making their presence felt in a way that is impossible not to notice.
You can find LSU fan reports from Seattle here and elsewhere on this site.
Landry, whose family moved to the Seattle area in the late 1980s, returned to his hometown of Lake Charles in the early '90s, then settled back into a Seattle lifestyle about four years ago. The arrival of fans from his home state shocked even him earlier this week.
"I've never seen so many people wearing purple," he said, fully aware it's the University of Washington's primary color.
Landry, a street musician whose 27th birthday is at the end of the month, said the swarm of LSU fans, with their "Tiger Bait" and "Geaux Tigers" chants in midseason form, are everywhere, especially in the popular Pike Place Market.
"They have blown people's minds," he said. "The whole state of Louisiana is here. I've heard 18,000 people are coming. I've heard 20,000. I've heard 25,000. I think they're all here now. They started coming in on Tuesday."
The purple he sees is LSU purple, not the UDub variety.
"Nobody cares about sports much up here," Landry said. "There are a few people who care about it and might have a jersey or something, but there aren't fans like there are fans back home. Plus, the whole state of Louisiana gets behind one college team. Here, it depends on where you live.
"I'm sure people in other parts of the state go for the Huskies, but someone in eastern Washington is not going to fly to Louisiana to watch them play. That ain't going to happen. People in Louisiana are poorer than people here, but they're willing to spend half their life savings on a jersey and a plane ticket."
LSU jerseys. LSU hats. LSU shirts. LSU jumpsuits.
Jumpsuits?
"I'm not kidding when I say jumpsuits," Landry said. "There are people in LSU jumpsuits, like they're about to jump out of a plane. It's kind of freaky, man."
Perhaps some of them did jump out of a plane, possibly part of a low-fare deal made on the Internet. Whatever the case, the Tiger has landed in Seattle.
Landry said he told buddies to sing "Hold that Tiger" between their regular playlist. The street musicians and craftsmen at the Market are still experiencing culture shock, he said.
"All the vendors are like, 'What the hell is going on?' The people here are baffled," he said.
Landry gave them some advice.
"Be on their side," he told a street vendor, "because they'll be your best friend. If you're against them, boy, you're against all of them."
That said, he hasn't noticed the invasion being an economic boon to the folks who ply their trade at the Market. Not yet.
"They're really not buying anything," he said. "I talked to all the vendors, and they said, 'They look through all the stuff, and they say, "That's nice. Bye." They're cheap.'
"I said, 'They're not cheap, they're broke. They spent everything just to fly out here and stay here.' I think if they had more money they'd spend it more, unlike some of the people who come up here. I just think the economy down there isn't what it is up here."
LSU fans who don't know each other except by the colors they wear are encountering each other in Seattle and immediately breaking into the back-and-forth "Geaux ... Tigers ..." that marks their appearance in airports, tourist spots and, really, just about anywhere they find themselves outside home base.
"They're out here in droves, and they're out here to prove a point: that they love LSU, and LSU is going to win," Landry said. "I have never seen people care so much about a team."
Landry said he put "Geaux Tigers" on a sign in the area where he and his band perform.
"They just looked at me like I was trying to profit off of them," he said.
He's struck up friendly conversations with those who noticed him playing Louisiana songs, including the Cajun staple "Colinda" and some Bourbon Street blues. The older folks have stopped and asked who he is and where he's from.
He's a Louisiana boy, and right now he's in the middle of an LSU hurricane swirling around Seattle, wave after wave in anticipation of the start of another LSU footballseason.
.
Carl Dubois has written or blogged about LSU sports since 1999. His phone interview with Jake Landry of Slimpickins wasn't hard to arrange. Jake is his nephew. The last thing he told Carl was "I'll call you if anything crazy happens." Carl is expecting the phone to ring. Often. You can contact him at carl1061 'at' gmail.com.
"Some of these guys are so freaking big," Landry said by telephone this morning. "I have never seen people so thick. They are huge. They're like a whole other breed of human beings."
Note: He hasn't seen the LSU players yet.
"No, these are the fans," he said. "I saw some guys that were like 6-5 and probably 300 pounds, and it was all muscle. They're just so big."
LSU opens its fifth season with Les Miles in charge, taking on the Washington Huskies at 9:30 p.m. (CDT) Saturday in Husky Stadium in Seattle.
It's LSU's most faraway place to play a football game, but that hasn't stopped its fans from making their presence felt in a way that is impossible not to notice.
You can find LSU fan reports from Seattle here and elsewhere on this site.
Landry, whose family moved to the Seattle area in the late 1980s, returned to his hometown of Lake Charles in the early '90s, then settled back into a Seattle lifestyle about four years ago. The arrival of fans from his home state shocked even him earlier this week.
"I've never seen so many people wearing purple," he said, fully aware it's the University of Washington's primary color.
Landry, a street musician whose 27th birthday is at the end of the month, said the swarm of LSU fans, with their "Tiger Bait" and "Geaux Tigers" chants in midseason form, are everywhere, especially in the popular Pike Place Market.
"They have blown people's minds," he said. "The whole state of Louisiana is here. I've heard 18,000 people are coming. I've heard 20,000. I've heard 25,000. I think they're all here now. They started coming in on Tuesday."
The purple he sees is LSU purple, not the UDub variety.
"Nobody cares about sports much up here," Landry said. "There are a few people who care about it and might have a jersey or something, but there aren't fans like there are fans back home. Plus, the whole state of Louisiana gets behind one college team. Here, it depends on where you live.
"I'm sure people in other parts of the state go for the Huskies, but someone in eastern Washington is not going to fly to Louisiana to watch them play. That ain't going to happen. People in Louisiana are poorer than people here, but they're willing to spend half their life savings on a jersey and a plane ticket."
LSU jerseys. LSU hats. LSU shirts. LSU jumpsuits.
Jumpsuits?
"I'm not kidding when I say jumpsuits," Landry said. "There are people in LSU jumpsuits, like they're about to jump out of a plane. It's kind of freaky, man."
Perhaps some of them did jump out of a plane, possibly part of a low-fare deal made on the Internet. Whatever the case, the Tiger has landed in Seattle.
Landry said he told buddies to sing "Hold that Tiger" between their regular playlist. The street musicians and craftsmen at the Market are still experiencing culture shock, he said.
"All the vendors are like, 'What the hell is going on?' The people here are baffled," he said.
Landry gave them some advice.
"Be on their side," he told a street vendor, "because they'll be your best friend. If you're against them, boy, you're against all of them."
That said, he hasn't noticed the invasion being an economic boon to the folks who ply their trade at the Market. Not yet.
"They're really not buying anything," he said. "I talked to all the vendors, and they said, 'They look through all the stuff, and they say, "That's nice. Bye." They're cheap.'
"I said, 'They're not cheap, they're broke. They spent everything just to fly out here and stay here.' I think if they had more money they'd spend it more, unlike some of the people who come up here. I just think the economy down there isn't what it is up here."
LSU fans who don't know each other except by the colors they wear are encountering each other in Seattle and immediately breaking into the back-and-forth "Geaux ... Tigers ..." that marks their appearance in airports, tourist spots and, really, just about anywhere they find themselves outside home base.
"They're out here in droves, and they're out here to prove a point: that they love LSU, and LSU is going to win," Landry said. "I have never seen people care so much about a team."
Landry said he put "Geaux Tigers" on a sign in the area where he and his band perform.
"They just looked at me like I was trying to profit off of them," he said.
He's struck up friendly conversations with those who noticed him playing Louisiana songs, including the Cajun staple "Colinda" and some Bourbon Street blues. The older folks have stopped and asked who he is and where he's from.
He's a Louisiana boy, and right now he's in the middle of an LSU hurricane swirling around Seattle, wave after wave in anticipation of the start of another LSU footballseason.
.
Carl Dubois has written or blogged about LSU sports since 1999. His phone interview with Jake Landry of Slimpickins wasn't hard to arrange. Jake is his nephew. The last thing he told Carl was "I'll call you if anything crazy happens." Carl is expecting the phone to ring. Often. You can contact him at carl1061 'at' gmail.com.
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:13 pm to Carl Dubois
quote:
"No, these are the fans," he said. "I saw some guys that were like 6-5 and probably 300 pounds, and it was all muscle. They're just so big."
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:17 pm to Carl Dubois
quote:what tha frick???
"Some of these guys are so freaking big," Landry said by telephone this morning. "I have never seen people so thick. They are huge. They're like a whole other breed of human beings."
Note: He hasn't seen the LSU players yet.
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:23 pm to DollaChoppa
Hey Carl, great articel man. I was wondering what the uw folks would think about this. Keep up the great work
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:24 pm to Carl Dubois
Thats how we roll down here in Louisiana, We love our Tigers. If i wasnt offshore right now id be there also. GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!! LSU LSU LSU!!!!!!!
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:24 pm to DollaChoppa
They're just used to seeing skinny, pot-smoking hippies. They're not used to seing people who actually work
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:25 pm to Carl Dubois
quote:
street musician
makes sense
some of this read like homeless rambling
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:30 pm to skullhawk
quote:
some of this read like homeless rambling
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:31 pm to As RXd
this is by far the lamest thread/story Ive read in a long time. HAHAHAH
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:35 pm to Udub22
quote:
this is by far the lamest thread/story Ive read in a long time
so leave noboby likes you.
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:45 pm to PAtiger21
I think the fact that he believes no one from LA has money is hilarious. I'm sure some there spent money they shouldn't have to go, but others can certainly afford it. They'll spend their money alcohol, just not a bunch of crap on the side of a street.
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:55 pm to Udub22
quote:
this is by far the lamest thread/story Ive read in a long time. HAHAHAH
How is this lame? A large group of fans with a prideful devotion to a very successful representative of their state comes to your place to have a good time, and it's lame?
If you come to Baton Rouge for the return trip in a few years, these same people will show you the time OF YOUR LIFE.
Why not, as a college football fan and representative of Seattle and Washington and The Great Northwest, do the same for your Louisiana counterparts?
Regarding the article, I assume that the Pike Market is similar to the French Market in N.O. Most Louisiana people have seen this type of setup before, and they're not biting. That doesn't necessarily mean they're cheap...
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:57 pm to joetiger
I think people have money, or they wouldn't have flown to WA. Just because they aren't buying tourist crap doesn't mean that they aren't spending money.
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:57 pm to Carl Dubois
The one thing that is ironic is that we can have sooo many travel all the way to Seattle to play a regular season game against a team on a 14 game losing streak but get way outnumbered in Orlando by Iowans in the '04 Cap One Bowl game. I was embarrassed that there were so many more Hawkeyes at that game than Tigers.
But, I am thrilled that the LSU fans are making themselves known and heard up there. I hope the team lives up to their expectations makes it worth the trip!
But, I am thrilled that the LSU fans are making themselves known and heard up there. I hope the team lives up to their expectations makes it worth the trip!
This post was edited on 9/4/09 at 12:58 pm
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:59 pm to Carl Dubois
quote:
"I'm sure people in other parts of the state go for the Huskies, but someone in eastern Washington is not going to fly to Louisiana to watch them play. That ain't going to happen. People in Louisiana are poorer than people here, but they're willing to spend half their life savings on a jersey and a plane ticket."
says the 27 y.o "street musician"
Posted on 9/4/09 at 12:59 pm to Carl Dubois
HA HA I agree, I've walked in a bunch of shops and haven't been impressed yet! I've spent plenty of money in the bars tho and plan to spend plenty more before saturday night is over! GEAUX TIGERS! ... Oh and Udub22, you can't get pissed because we are taking over this place!!!
Posted on 9/4/09 at 1:04 pm to otowntiger
quote:
The one thing that is ironic is that we can have sooo many travel all the way to Seattle to play a regular season game against a team on a 14 game losing streak but get way outnumbered in Orlando by Iowans in the '04 Cap One Bowl game.
yeah, because nobody likes to spend the holidays with their families.
Posted on 9/4/09 at 1:04 pm to Carl Dubois
That's right, citizens of Washington state, the bayou bengals are storming the streets of Seattle...the huskies have no idea...no idea at all. The quiet is almost over...Tiger Storm 2009 is almost upon them, almost upon them all.
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