re: Anybody else in the student section UF game 1997

quote:

---

Some Florida fans held a big sheet with a taunt message on it by the student section. It got rip to shreds and police laughed at UF fans for crying about it?

Cool story off the day I bet

---

thelawnwranglers, interesting to see this here tonight; coincidentally, I'm here in New Jersey, about a half-hour south of you on I-287.


I'm glad to hear so many folks remember that event. 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 around the middle of the Student Section, maybe 1/3 of the way between the goal post and the band; I grabbed Nick and said "back me up"

-- we got on the rounded walkway, 1/3 of the way up and I scooted through the Student Section I calmly passed them looking away from them 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 (gosh darn 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 10,000 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, 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 from LSU Mechanical Engineering in May 1998