Tulane may have lost the game 34-9 to No. 2 LSU on Saturday at the Superdome, but Tulane’s return from a near-death experience of Katrina may have just taken a turn for the better in a lop-sided but entertaining loss to the cross-state powerhouse Fightin’ Tigers.
Diminutive Tulane quarterback Anthony Scelfo led the Wave to a surprising 10-9 deficit at halftime, the Tulane offense confounding the LSU defense with trick plays and the occasional first down. The halfback passes, laterals and reverses effectively shut down the speedy LSU defensive line and kept the Tigers wondering what happened to a easy victory in an exciting first half.
In the second half, LSU asserted its dominance and literally ran over the Green Wave with 24 unanswered points. Another loss for the Wave? Certainly. A sign of better times on the horizon? Maybe, just maybe.
A lot will depend on Tulane football fans. The two previous games, both at home, had announced crowds well under 30,000, and likely no more than 10-15,000 people actually put “cheeks in the chairs.” Keep in mind as well that supporters of the University of Houston and Championship Division-member Southeastern Louisiana filled probably half of those seats.
Psst--It’s easy to get a good seat at the Dome for a Tulane football game. Simply buy the cheapest ticket you can and pick your favorite spot—because no one will be sitting in it.
Tulane has had a fan support problem that will seriously inhibit their ability to attract Division I-A talent if they continue to draw so poorly at the gate. An announced crowd of 58,789 saw the LSU-Tulane game on Saturday—good enough to boost Tulane’s average attendance but well below Superdome capacity (69,000). The Tulane Athletic Department had as many as 3,000 tickets remaining as of Friday. This, above all the Post-K challenges for the Green Wave, must change if Tulane football is to have a future.
Many fans may have stayed away because of the early start time (11:00 am) and because they could see it on ESPN2. LSU fans, which travel extremely well, hate early start times because they ruin the tailgating routine of watching all the daytime games before heading to Tiger Stadium.
Not only must Tulane’s fans buy tickets, they must make wearing Olive and Blue a constant reminder to college football fans that D-I football lives in New Orleans. Wear it with a pride that comes only through adversity. Tulane’s coaches and players deserve the show of support.
After spending an entire season on the road, being forced from their home in Katrina’s wake, the Green Wave faced adversity hardly ever seen in the annals of NCAA football history. They could not go home. They could not practice nor train on their home field, and could not play in front of a home crowd.
Tulane personified what many of us evacuees went through—surviving only through the kindness of others. It is not a situation any of us would like to be in again. Katrina taught us to rely on ourselves, and maybe this push of inward strength can sustain the Wave as they rebuild their fan base. Those same fans stepping up to the plate to buy tickets (and show up) as well as wear their colors with pride would be a good place to start.
Wear your heart on your sleeves, Tulane fans, and make sure those sleeves are covered in green.
See this, Tulane fans? It would be nice if you wore these more often...
To follow up on the outstanding cartoon about Michael Vick in yesterday's New Orleans Times-Picayune, sportswriter John DeShazier has written an editorial worth reading.
A few highlights from DeShazier's column (and emphasis, mine):
"Too often, "keeping it real" means keeping company with trouble, staying "true" to your roots means staying dumb as a door knob, refusing to "sell out" means selling yourself short and your supporters a bill of goods.
That explains how a man like Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who has adulation and salary almost beyond measure, gets caught in a de####able mess that results in a federal indictment tabbing him with dogfighting and dog killing.
And if you're not sick of that kind of stupidity, I'll be sick enough for you and a million others.
Sick, tired, disgusted, disappointed and angry at watching a procession of young, talented, black men who have everything to lose continue to contort themselves into positions from which they can't untangle, mostly because of a set of unwritten rules that are so idiotic they don't warrant the ink it would cost to write them down."
And DeShazier continues:
"I'm not suggesting athletes turn their backs on the communities from where they came. Most return as heroes and inspirations, and others will do the same in the future. They can and will give back, can and will sow seeds that blossom into something beautiful in places where beauty left and wasn't expected to return.
Listen to the description of Draft Night for former LSU basketball player Glen "Big Baby" Davis on nola.com (emphasis mine in bold throughout):
For starters, sure he must have been upset at missing the first round's guaranteed contracts, but Davis had his first chance to show some maturity, but chose not to.
"Collis Temple Jr. handed Glen Davis a note as Davis addressed the media at his NBA draft party Thursday night.
Davis glanced at the card and flicked it away, his disappointment evident. "
And, it sounds like he got some bad advice from his agent....
"John Hamilton, Davis' Houston-based agent, said he was surprised at the turn of events but that Davis might still benefit. Players covet first round selections because teams are required to give three-year guaranteed contracts. Second round picks can get guaranteed deals also, but teams are not required to give them.
"Everybody gets caught up in the first round," Hamilton said. "I tried to prepare him even though two teams in the 20s guaranteed they would pick him." "
It took his mentor, Collis Temple, Jr. to sum it up for Davis:
"It's tremendous to be the 35th player picked," Temple said. "You know how hard it is to get into the NBA? He's competing with everyone in the world for 60 spots. He could easily have been 25 or 17."
I hope Davis has a career that he can look back on and realize how silly he was last night.
The New Orleans Saints released long-time players Willie Whitehead and "The Beer Man," Michael Lewis. Thanks for your efforts, guys. Whitehead, a defensive lineman from Auburn, had been with the team since the Ditka years, and Lewis was a Pro Bowl kickoff and punt returner.
Whitehead was a versatile but limited player, who willingly played underneath when he was a better defensive end. However, with Will Smith and Charles Grant, Whitehead's chances were limited in that area. Don't be surprised to see Whitehead catch on with another NFL team before training camp.
Lewis' career is likely over. He was always a fan favorite, having prepped at Grace King High School in Metairie, and has a soft and very humble demeanor.
Though I am a life-long Southerner, ice hockey is my game. I was likely the first hockey-specif ic sportswriter in the state of Louisiana when the ECHL arrived in 1995. I was a freelance hockey sportswriter for local fishwraps between 1995-2000.
Being from New Orleans, I follow the Saints, Hornets and LSU in that order. I have been from Los Angeles to New York City to watch Wayne Gretzky play, and I attended my first hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1985. The greatest hockey ever played was the 1987 Canada Cup Final between Canada and the USSR.
A lot will depend on Tulane football fans. The two previous games, both at home, had announced crowds well under 30,000, and likely no more than 10-15,000 people actually put “cheeks in the chairs.” Keep in mind as well that supporters of the University of Houston and Championship Division-member Southeastern Louisiana filled probably half of those seats. 
