re: La Tech must be proud of their baseball team....

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but brought in a couple of really good transfers

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Who are they ?

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Not what I’ve heard from other threads.

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Oooooooooh, you’ve heard from threads.

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They supposedly have their fair share of die hards who believe people cannot like both LA Tech and LSU

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Well, of course they do. I’m sure very school like them in the country has some that feel the same about their respective state schools. I’m sure Southern Miss has a handful that don’t think you can support them and either Ole Miss or Mississippi State. Seems normal. But I don’t think that group is even close to as big as a lot of LSU fans have convinced themselves of.

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The same exact inferiority complex

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Of course there’s a little of that. But why do LSU fans just want to pat little Tech on the head, tell them “Bless your heart,” but that they should know their place? Ambition is a bad thing? LSU fans—not all—have become so fricking obnoxious on here with regards to “accepting mediocrity.” We—and I was a die hard LSU fan a decade before I ever stepped foot in a Tech classroom, so I still refer to LSU as “we” and Tech as “Tech” (more on that later)—have won 3 National Championships in football (played for another), 5 SEC Championships (played for another), 2 Sugar Bowls, and a Fiesta Bowl in the last 20 years, yet there are tards on here that for 15 years have wanted to fire the coach every year they didn’t win an NC, because anything less would be “accepting mediocrity,” and they just can’t abide that in any part of their lives and love to feel so superior to those that do.

Check out any Wade thread on here lately—there will be those defending him as having done a nice job, and then those hating on him and his supporters for “accepting mediocrity” because we haven’t made it past the Sweet 16 since he’s been here. Same shite was said about Paul in the last few years of his tenure. While obnoxious and unrealistic, I understand where they’re coming from. I don’t see anything wrong with Tech having a similar group of supporters who are ambitious regarding the university and sports programs and want them to continue aiming higher and raising expectations, unrealistic as they may be.

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And it doesn’t happen upon admission like the poster earlier said.

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Not my experience in the early 2000s. Some friends that loved LSU before going to college stayed hardcore LSU fans. There were current students that would try and shame them for cheering for LSU or wearing a hat or shirt. It wasn’t the majority of LaTech fans that’s why I said contingent, but it existed and still exists. Idk why it’s so hard for some to just cheer for any Louisiana school if they are doing well, but it always seemed like there was a group there where it was Tech or nothing. Maybe it’s like that everywhere but I haven’t experienced it.

I don’t like when people shite on Ruston. I think it’s a good college town that gives a good well rounded college experience. I will always cheer for them and wouldn’t blink an eye if my kids choose to go there as it is the total package imo for a “smaller” college.

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Not my experience in the early 2000s

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Well, I was a few years before that, so maybe it did get a little worse. But not only were Terry Bradshaw and Karl Malone still very relevant sports figures in the late 90s, but they jumped on the football scene with Gary Crowton and his offense destroying records with Tim Rattay throwing for 500 yards and Troy Edwards going for 200+ receiving almost every game it seemed. They even beat Bama twice in a pretty short span, and I think one of those Bama teams won the SEC that year with Mike Dubose.

So they had a lot of positive momentum around that time, and it’s no surprise some enjoyed that taste and wanted more of it. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself.

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There were current students that would try and shame them for cheering for LSU or wearing a hat or shirt. It wasn’t the majority of LaTech fans that’s why I said contingent, but it existed and still exists.

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When I was there, it was just the ones that had just gone all in and were drinking the Tech Koolaid. Mainly just like those drawn to student government or Orientation leaders and Greek dudes who lived on campus.

I will say there was a huge difference in your experience based on whether or not you lived on campus. Tech and Ruston are both small enough where it made it easy to just go home right class, so you weren’t immersed in it like you would be at LSU where fighting traffic to get all the way down Nicholson or Highland or wherever and back between classes just isn’t worth it. Better to go to the student union or Chimes St. or even the library between classes. So I think LSU is so big that even if you don’t live on campus, you still feel like a part of its closed community, where as after my freshman year, I was more a resident of Ruston than part of the tight Tech community.

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Idk why it’s so hard for some to just cheer for any Louisiana school if they are doing well, but it always seemed like there was a group there where it was Tech or nothing.

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My perception—and I could be wrong—is that group is relatively small. They feel like being a fan is a zero sum game, which it’s not. However, financial support is a zero sum game—every dollar a Tech grad spends on LSU is a dollar that Tech doesn’t get. And honestly, I get it. It’s just like the folks who get pissed about all the Louisiana kids who take advantage of TOPS, but then move out of state to work and raise a family. Tech educated you and prepared you for your professional career (hopefully), but then you spend your time and money in Baton Rouge supporting LSU? I get it.

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Maybe it’s like that everywhere but I haven’t experienced it.

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I think it’s probably pretty common throughout the country when you have a similar dynamic. It obviously happens in Lafayette with USL, while it doesn’t happen in Monroe with NLU. The gap between the 2 schools is just too big to really have any sort of chip on their shoulders about it. But they are aware of and are disappointed by the fact that their attendance is terrible in large part because it competes with televised LSU games. I’m sure there are other factors, but big screen tvs and LSU being really good and on tv every Saturday has really hurt their home attendance the last 25 years or so.

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I don’t like when people shite on Ruston. I think it’s a good college town that gives a good well rounded college experience. I will always cheer for them and wouldn’t blink an eye if my kids choose to go there as it is the total package imo for a “smaller” college.

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I agree, and it’s gotten a lot better with some of the old, (very) conservative guard dying off and being replaced by younger people who are much more progressive in how they want to grow the town. Of course, the biggest and best thing that ever happened to Ruston was changing the alcohol sales law. It brought in tons of businesses that wouldn’t have opened there otherwise, and kept people and their sales tax dollars in town.

I have degrees from both and have relatives currently attending both.

Ruston is a nice town. Tech is a good school and offers some things LSU doesn't. They have a full fledged GIS major while LSUs is a slapdick subsidiary of the Geography department.

LSU is a bigger "brand." It's far from being a Harvard, but if you graduate at the top of your class, you'll get some elite opportunities. Maybe a little less so at Tech. On the other hand, it's easy to fall through the cracks at LSU. Tech is a lot more hands on. If you're struggling or missing class, they'll know about it and find out what's wrong. At LSU it's more sink or swim.

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Sounds like they are in dire need of a stadium expansion

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Their stadium is a year old. It’s nice, but small. I don’t see them adding on anytime soon.

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Tech does their facilities right. I drove thru there a while back and I was surprised at just how nice all of their athletic facilities seemed to be. They have that campus looking good.

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My folks are Tech alums and still have a place on Lake Claiborne, not far from Ruston. I’ve been to Tech many times over the years and have always loved the campus, and Ruston. It’s a true college town feel that you don’t get in the bigger cities like BR.

Yeah weel their baseball facility holds a whopping 2000 fans so theres that !!!!!!!!!

That game has been sold out since early January....Nice stadium, really solid team...The Love Shack will be rowdy this year.

vs. Tigers is the hottest ticket though by far, for obvious reasons.

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LaTech has the best coach in the state outside of LSU.

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The staff is strong as well - former NSU and Bama head coach Mitch Gaspard is as good as they come.