...Glenn Guilbeau (or the editor at the Lafayette Daily Advertiser, where this particular article of Glenn's was carried), with the headline "LSU Backups Popular: Ryan Perrilloux, Matt Flynn Have Fans Intrigued." (HT: Tiger Droppings for the link.)
Given the inordinate number of dropped balls by our wideouts last year, and Russell's uncanny ability to deliver in the clutch, I'm more than happy with him at the helm. No doubt Flynn played remarkably well in annihilating Miami in the Peach Bowl 8 months ago, and maybe JR gets a little too much love on account of his cannon arm (ahem, CFNews); in the end though, I'm partial to the known quantity. The sheer volume of productivity drained from South Louisiana debating this issue is mind-boggling...hopefully it'll all be put to rest 3 weeks into the season with a JR-led victory at Auburn.
Back to the topic of Glenn Guilbeau, meanwhile, I'm a little confused by this article of his documenting the ten worst night games in Tiger Stadium history (a list which he even admits includes a few day games; no word on why he couldn't finish the task at hand). In any event, some gems from the article:
So if we were to do a terrible job of recruiting sports information directors, and ask said subpar new hires to please refrain from accomplishing their mandate of increasing the exposure of the University, you'd be happy?
I'll just direct you straight to LSU's official athletics site, where it's not particularly difficult to locate this passage (just click on "Tiger Stadium"):
Part of the lore of Tiger Stadium is the tradition of playing games at night, an idea that was first introduced in 1931 against Spring Hill (a 35-0 LSU victory). This year, LSU will celebrate its 75th year of playing night football in Tiger Stadium. Since that first night game in 1931, LSU has played the majority of its games at night and the Tigers have fared much better under the lights than during the day. Since 1960, LSU is 195-59-3 (.765) at night in Tiger Stadium compared to an 18-22-3 (.453) record during the day over that span.
So I can't produce specific night records for every other team in college football, but I'd be comfortable asserting that our .765 record at night hardly qualifies as "no better than most teams." Especially given that, if one were to run a few historical comparisons at this database, one could rationally conclude that a .765 winning percentage in ANY environment (home/away/neutral) across ANY time period (from 1867 to the present) ought to be considered pretty damn impressive.
Hey, did you catch that? "Every year since we are told it happened." Conspiracy theorists unite! Glenn, clever old chap, is levelheaded enough to remain skeptical that ever happened. He's just so smart, this guy! Would that we could attain your otherworldly level of subjectivity; instead we slug along day after day, shackled by the purple and gold-colored goggles through which we view the world.
Really? Google "Michigan big house," a rather non-eloquent way to go about it, sure, but click on the first link. Then click on "Michigan Stadium Story," which will take you here. It appears Michigan - the winningest team in college football history - likes to celebrate its history as well. (Incidentally, I like that word, "winningest." Sounds like terrible English, but all of us sports types use it with reckless abandon. Who made it up? A beer awaits thee with my name on the bill.)
Or University of Washington's Husky Stadium, with quotes from Lou Holtz, a reporter or two, an Army DT, and...you get the point.
And even if LSU were the only school to use the plethora of quotes of admiration to its advantage in selling the University, I'm having trouble understanding why that's such a problem for Glenn; at the end of the day, isn't a football program supposed to do whatever it can in order to attract the best?
Done ranting.