Playin’ “Nice” with Anchor of Gold

Let’s be real, LSU is going to beat Vanderbilt on Saturday. Rather than spend time trying to analyze Vandy’s defense or predict how many passing yards Joe Burrow will have, we asked Tom Stephenson of Anchor of Gold the real questions LSU fans want answered.

1. The most important question all LSU fans, especially those making the trip, are wondering: will there be any whistlers at this game?

The Whistlers are some of Vanderbilt’s most loyal fans, and I believe they’re season ticket holders or at least extremely regular attendees at football and basketball games. So if they’re not there, the unofficial ”sell your tickets to opposing fans for the biggest opponents on the schedule in protest of the Vanderbilt administration’s lack of commitment to football, or at least its inability to fire Derek Mason” movement (of which I am not a supporter, by the way) has officially jumped the shark. Because if we’ve lost the Whistler, really, what do we have left? Anyway, at Vanderbilt Stadium he’s probably going to get drowned out by the 30,000 LSU fans in attendance, so I don’t know why you would be concerned about this.

2. Also on the subject of baseball, the 2019 College World Series champs will be honored during this game. If JJ Bleday put on pads, do you think he could pass for more yards than Riley Neal?

Riley Neal passed for 378 yards against Purdue and even hit Derek Mason with a pass, so this seems like a pretty big ask for a baseball player. I could maybe see this happening if Bleday got to hit the ball with a bat.

3. LSU fans aren’t used to 11 a.m. kicks like these other, no offense, lower-tier SEC teams like Vandy, Kentucky, Alabama, etc. What are your favorite Saturday activities after an early game has concluded?

This implies that we watch the games, and the attendance says that we don’t. The usual go-to for Vanderbilt fans postgame is to drink heavily to forget that the game happened. YMMV with that one.

4. Vandy is wearing grey uniforms, forcing LSU to wear purple jerseys for this game. Are Vandy fans’ aware of LSU fans’ superstitions about these jerseys?

No, but we do have our own superstition, which is that whenever we wear a color that is not black or gold things usually don’t go well. I am honestly not sure why we are wearing gray. Somebody needs to check on this. Are we trying to copy Tennessee now or something? But at least they have a color that is actually terrible and that nobody should ever wear.

5. Sure, the Dores (y’all do call them that right?) are off to an 0-2 start, but has that stopped Vandy fans from laughing at the Vols?

It has not. Hell, we laugh at the Vols even when they’re good at football, because what they think constitutes “a college education” is a foreign concept to us.