On Wed, 1 Sep 2004 21:01:52 -0500, "Gracecat"
wrote:

FYI....
LSU has always had a tiger in house (At the university) who is named Mike.

massive snippage of much interesting information

Wow Gracecat, are you an alum or is all this lore something you pick
up by osmosis down there? g


The Nickname that Stuck

In the fall of 1896, Coach A. W. Jeardeau's LSU football team posted a
perfect 6-0-0 record, and it was in that pigskin campaign that LSU first
adopted its nickname. "Tigers" seemed a logical choice since most collegiate
teams in that year bore the names of ferocious animals; however, the
underlying reason LSU chose "Tigers" dates back to the Civil War. During the
"War Between the States," a battalion of Confederate soldiers comprised of
New Orleans Zouaves and Donaldsonville Cannoneers distinguished themselves
at the Battle of Shenandoah. These Louisiana rebels had been known by their
contemporaries as the fighting band of Louisiana Tigers. Thus, when LSU
football teams entered the gridiron battlefields in the fourth year of
intercollegiate competition, they tagged themselves as the "Tigers." It was
the 1955 "fourth-quarter ball club" that helped the moniker "Tigers" grow
into the nickname, "Fighting Tigers."

If they're the "Fighting Tigers", then where does "Bayou Bengals" come
from? I honestly thought the latter was their nickname. They certainly
are called by that name often enough.




Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha

============
http://www.jhedge.com