re: Point pulled from T-Bob thread: How much did 1/9/12 hurt future attendance?

1/19/12 was THE defining date of this era of LSU Football. It was the climax of what Saban started, and it fittingly died with him. From circa 2000 until that point, we were climbing. The SEC championships, the national championships - every year we contended (except JJ/JL's first year, more or less). And every year, you had a genuine fan base that went along for the ride. It was a beast machine that hulked along every year until it hit that epic wall. And on that night, it was over. And it will never be the same.

It was the altering moment. I wouldn't say it was the point where we became one step lower than the rabid, "Updyke-esque" type of base, because that kind of shite is ridiculous. But for the vast majority of people, who either know no other history other than 2000 on (or even for those who went through the Hallman/Dinardo mediocrity, because it's been so long, we've all kind of forgotten)... it was the end of the road. You will never see such a mass collection of hysteric fandom like that for a generation.

There will be no STANDING ROOM sellouts again in your near future. No more Dan Bourne saying, to thunderous applause "Tonight's crowd, XXXXXX - THE LARGEST CROWD IN THE HISTORY OF DEATH VALLEY!" without simply because of added seats. And even then, the crowd will whimper a cheer. But not like you've seen the past 15 years.

That one loss basically sucked the soul out of LSU Football Fans. It collectively changed them. It turned a perfect season, a massive road win at Bama, an SEC West title, an outright SEC title, and it turned them into dust. In an instant, none of it mattered. Not because you simply lost a national championship. But because you lost to your old coach, a division rival, a conference rival, and a team you have to play EVERY year, who you narrowly beat in the regular season... on a national stage. All the while, your conference commissioner is lobbying for it. Celebrating it. Slive knew LSU probably couldn't beat them again. So all that combined - it just twisted the knife. It was over.

Now, I'm not gonna say I haven't been excited since then. I love LSU football. I watch every game. I go to as many as I can in person. But it's with a little less zeal. Sometimes getting out there's too much hassle. "Meh. I'll watch on TV." THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE 1/9/12 MADE. That loss to UGA this season? Meh. Win some, lose some. Loss to Ole Miss... meh. Still, for me, it's a much healthier tact. I would like to see a win. But it will never be that bad to lose. Never again.

Bowl tickets don't sell. 10 win seasons are good enough. We'll ebb and flow into the AP 5-15 envelope and that's probably good enough. And the only way to get back up to that level is to have some cataclysmic collapse down the road and have to climb the mountain back up again. Ten years. Twenty years. Who knows?

It's not necessarily a bad thing. But people putting it out there as some forgettable loss are kidding themselves. It was crushing. And it changed things forever, good or bad.

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its not really a good argument when we'll probably finish with a top 3 class

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Where your class ranks doesn't necessarily mean mean shite in the big picture....and you ought to be smart enough to know that.
What?? We've never won games with 2 and 3-star recruits?

Don't be a tool. From going months between holding penalties to favorable scheduling, Bama gets the breaks. The mulligan put it over the top and its insulting that Bama fans can't even man up and admit their undue fortune.

Thanks, man.

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Yeah, it was so terrible for you. All LSU did was go 13-1, 9-0, play in the BCSCG, and end up ranked #2 in the nation. What a fricking disappointing season for you to live though as a fan.

What spoiled, little babies we have as fans.

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Exactly, it really wasn't terrible for me. I was just watching football. That game showed me that it wasn't really important to my life. That's why I don't let it affect me as much as it used to.

And the "crashing down" part was just hyperbole. Don't take things so literal.