T is for Tiger

Oh, but this LSU grad couldn't participate in the A-Z Challenge without a visit to home plate. LSU is Louisiana State University Agricultural and Mechanical College, a land-grant school that harkens back to about 1800 when the Federal government (in Washington, D.C.) provided land for colleges in order to open up opportunity for higher education for the general public.  The program proved successful and was expanded through the decades (through various means). Today, LSU is one of 30 universities nationwide with either land-grant, sea-grant or space-grant status.

What led to the land-grant program was that the New England states had a strong private school collegiate foundation (Harvard, for example) in the 1800s, with public universities on the rise and with the development of higher public education increasing along the East Coast and elsewhere in the United States.  However, the South lagged woefully behind.  The Civil War didn't help.

William Tecumseh Sherman was Louisiana State University's first president.  When the Civil War broke out, he got on his horse and rode away. (Cars hadn't been invented . . . .)  Sherman became a general in the U.S. Army.  Historians give him high marks for an overall strategy that contributed to the North's victory.  Historians blast him for the "scorched earth" policy that led to Atlanta's fall.  For sixty miles wide and sixty miles long, barely a chicken escaped Sherman's march.  Many historians think this march is what fuels a certain bitterness that lingers in the South today.  We'll go into that another day.  For now, back to LSU (where there's no plaque with Sherman's name on campus).

Mike the Tiger is the official mascot and graphic image of LSU in Baton Rouge.

In 1896, LSU adopted "Tigers" as its mascot, but it wouldn't be until October 21, 1936 that the university would acquire an actual tiger.  Students and athletes named the Bengal tiger after sports trainer Challis "Mike" Chambers, the one who had long lobbied for a real mascot.  Mikes I - IV were Bengal tigers.  Mike V was a mixed breed, as is Mike VI (Bengali-Siberian).

In 2005, Mike VI moved to his new campus home, 15,000 sq. ft. (1,400 sq. m.) filled with a swimming pool, lush greens, rocks and creative hiding spots.  Private donations paid for the new digs.  I was most happy to crack open the piggy bank to donate.  When I was a student at LSU, like other students, I'd sometimes visit Mike, often with a heavy heart.  His cage didn't leave much room for movement.  I didn't think it was right then -- and don't think it's right now to keep animals in such restrictive conditions.

I have mixed feelings about zoos in general.  However, not that long ago, I was on a zoo's board in one of our larger cities simply because I wanted to make a difference.  I learned that low admission fees and meager tax dollars don't come close to covering a zoo's operational expenses. Food costs alone are enormous, not to mention other expected needs.  Corporate and private donations are what usually keep a zoo financially afloat.  But I also learned that a lot of people think tax dollars cover expenses, complain about why these dollars don't buy more, and refuse to donate.  It's a vicious circle.

LSU follows an easement program when its tiger requires geriatric care.  First, Mike attends home games but no longer roars before the game.  Second, he stops attending games.  Third, he's retired to one of several 'farms' in the U.S. where larger animals can roam and live out their days in dignity.

LSU is in the Southeastern Conference, where heart attack football jazzes up weekends. Texas A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical) is joining the SEC.  Since it's not unusual for southern students to attend out-of-state schools, the SEC's spirited football widens, but all in good fun.  My husband and I stopped by (SEC) Auburn University in Alabama (en route to Louisiana) just prior to a deranged person's vicious attack on those gorgeous trees at Toomer's Corner.  No, no, just no.  Football's a game.  Somebody has to lose.  Just the way it is.

Geaux Tigers!

Mike VI in his new digs.  (Wikipedia)

Cooling off in the wading pool.

A handsome dude!

Tiger Stadium, also known as Death Valley, on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.  The stadium presently seats 95,542. (Wikipedia Photo)

Tiger Stadium on Game Night . . . Geaux Tigers!  (LSU Sports)  When I was a student, I  accompanied a friend, a sports photographer onto the field. (to take photographs during a game).  To look up and see thousands of people and hear the roar of the crowd is an experience beyond words.