re: Rank the era’s, Death Valley was the best to worst?

During the 1960s-80s-smaller stadium, more raucous crowds, for sure. In the 1960s-1977, the stadium held 68,500, and beginning in 1978, capacity jumped to 78,000. Believe me, it was louder. Fans saw few college games on TV (one or two on Saturday, at most), less commercial interruption, about 90 seconds between touchdowns and kickoffs so the crowd was still at fever pitch. Tickets were hard to get, and the idea of turning down a chance to see a game was unheard of, unless there was rain (the "Never rains in Tiger Stadium" slogan is ridiculous). Bands played. There were many entire games where people did NOT sit down. People dressed better. The campus was safer. I remember CLEARLY, signs below the press box reading "Welcome to DEAF Valley." Somewhere along the way, it was reported differently and stuck. It should be returned to its former status, in a figurative and literal sense. The games below are a sample of the forgotten, and wild, games in LSU's past:
LSU vs. Auburn 1969
LSU vs. Alabama 1969
LSU vs Notre Dame 1970
LSU-Ole Miss 1970, 1972
LSU vs. Nebraska 1976 (tie)
LSU vs Southern Cal 1979 (loss)
LSU vs. Auburn 1980
LSU vs Florida State 1982
LSU vs Ohio State 1987 (tie)

1997-2012

Better tailgating
Better pregame atmosphere
Prime Dan Borne
Championship football program
Packed stadium
Bigger/better band
The list goes on…

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It’s more corporate for sure and some games are not electric, but any big game where it matters and the crowd is needed, LSU Tiger Stadium is on point

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THIS*^^^ 100%…. For many games it’s a shadow of its former self, but , with less frequency…

The pantheon of concrete & steel can still conjure up the spirits and bring it, when it’s needed most.


Another thing we oldtimers need to realize is- we have an impossible standard from bygone eras; even if TS is 65,75% of what it used to be, that’s still a goosebumps experience for a younger crowd with nothing to compare it to unfavorably…

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the band got and kept the crowd engaged.

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I miss this part of Tiger Stadium.

My first game in TS was 1971, first as a student 1976, graduated 1981, season ticket ever sense. Before all of the TV it was much more special. If you wanted to see the Tigers, you had to be in the stadium. It was a privilege and you knew you had to do your part by staying and yelling. The place stills give me goosebumps when I walk in but that's from remembering the past, not what it is today. Back then, every minute you could in that stadium was treasured.

Tommy moffitt was at the root of that success 97-2019

Early 80s to 2007 was peak TS imo

Ironically my first lsu game was that Tennessee 2000 game