My first LSU game was the Independence Bowl in 1995 at age 13.

I was in seventh grade, an avid LSU football fan, and it was their first bowl game since I was in kindergarten. I obviously didn't remember that far back, so it was my first memory of an LSU bowl game and I remember how big a deal that was. I have been attending games regular since my early twenties, a TAF member since 2008 and season-ticket holder in section 216 since 2014.

Yes, I am young compared to a lot of you, but I have been around long enough to see plenty of ups and downs with this program. This is the worst season I have experienced. Granted, I don't remember much from the Hallman and Archer days. I was too young and DiNardo was the first coach I really remember knowing or having an interest in.

But what makes this worse is in all the other down-years we had something I really don’t feel we have right now: hope. We always knew a great recruiting class was coming in, or a favorable schedule, younger players developing in maturity. I always felt we were within a year or two of being dominant again. This time I don’t feel that. It appears the curse of 2020 in spilling over into the future of this program.

There is a cultural problem in our program. Culture comes from leadership. Leadership takes its lead from the head coach. There is a roster problem. This roster has been horribly mismanaged. We might be under the scholarship limit for years now. We have a head coach who wants to be a CEO-style coach because he doesn’t have his own identity on offense or defense. The problem is, he doesn’t even have a consistent or solid vision for offense or defense. A head coach with a vision doesn’t change a defensive base scheme less than twelve months after the most convincing national championship run in the modern era. A successful head coach knows what he wants his team's identity to be, and surrounds himself with the best people to carry out that vision. Sure there are occasions when modifications should be made. Like going to the spread last year was the right thing to do, but that was after failed and mediocre attempts at offense for years. Furthermore, if the spread was really part of Ed’s vision for this team's identify —a vision a head coach should have before he takes the job—he would have brought in someone to introduce the spread year one.

I have very little hope for this program under coach Ed O. He’s a nice guy with a great story, but I don’t see any evidence that he is capable of sustaining a blue blood program at this level. He doesn’t know who he wants to be, and therefore doesn’t know what he wants this team to be. He lacks vision, and therefore we lack identity. For the first time since age 13, I feel little hope for this program's future.