| Magnificent, maddening, thrilling, heartbreaking—over
the years, LSU football has been called many things; boring
is not among them. But no period in the team's history better
exemplifies the extreme highs and lows of sport better than
the past fifteen years. In 1993, the Tigers were in the midst
of a record six-season losing streak and the program was struggling
to dig its way out of its darkest days. By 2008, LSU had emerged
as one of the premier college football powers in the nation
and the unprecedented two-time winner of the BCS national championship.
In The Fighting Tigers, 1993–2008, award-winning sportswriter
Scott Rabalais chronicles the Tigers' fantastic rise to the
top of the college football universe, vividly detailing the
victories and defeats, the coaches and the players, the tears
and the titles of this sometimes frustrating, always fascinating
period of LSU football.
Game by game, Rabalais recounts the tenures of the four head
coaches who led the Tigers during these years—"Curley" Hallman,
the strict taskmaster whose mounting losses created dissension
and apathy among the Tiger faithful; Gerry DiNardo, the charismatic
salesman whose efforts to "Bring Back the Magic" temporarily
vaulted the Tigers again into the national polls; Nick Saban,
the intense workhorse who steadily rebuilt the program and
led the team to its first national championship in almost
fifty years; and Les Miles, the engaging wildcard who finally
emerged from Saban's shadow with a championship of his own.
Rabalais provides expert analysis of the 2004 and 2008 BCS
national championship games and other postseason bowl games
as well as the "ordinary" games that have crossed over into
legendary status—1993's "Pigs Will Fly" victory against Alabama,
"The Night the Barn Burned" at Auburn in 1996, and 2002's
"Bluegrass Miracle." Along the way, Rabalais recounts the
incredible athletic feats of numerous standout players, including
Eddie Kennison, Kevin Faulk, Josh Reed, Michael Clayton, Marcus
Spears, Chad Lavalais, and Glenn Dorsey.
Throughout, Rabalais interweaves off-the-field events that
have affected or enhanced the LSU football legacy: the return
of the traditional home white jerseys; the creation of the
Bengal Belles; two expansions of Tiger Stadium; the death
of Mike V and the introduction of Mike VI; and perhaps most
poignant, the Tigers' volunteer efforts and emotional responses
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
An appendix contains the vital statistics of LSU's entire
football history. Individual and team records in every area,
coaching records, All-Americans and Academic All-Americans,
year-by-year results, top ten Tiger Stadium crowds, Tigers
in pro football—all of this and more will satisfy even the
most hardcore LSU sports statistician. Peter Finney, venerable
author of the three previous volumes of The Fighting Tigers,
passes the official historian's torch to Rabalais in a compelling
foreword that emphasizes the significance of the Tigers' recent
run of success.
To many die-hard Tiger fans, LSU football is a religion all
its own. With The Fighting Tigers, 1993–2008, Rabalais
has written the next book of its bible.
Scott Rabalais has covered LSU athletics
for The Advocate (Baton Rouge) since 1992.
Peter Finney is a sports columnist at the
New Orleans Times-Picayune and the author of the
first three volumes of The Fighting Tigers. |
