Precaution: UL vs. LSU softball, Leave rivalry on field

[NewsCopy]

Should the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and the LSU Tigers' softball teams happen to meet each other this weekend in the NCAA Softball Regional in Baton Rouge, fans of both universities should avoid taking the spotlight away from what's taking place in between the white lines with crude and malicious behavior. There's no denying it may be even worse when it comes down to the two softball programs, especially after former Cajuns coach Yvette Girouard left to take over the Tigers five years ago. The amount of animosity between the fans of both universities has been well-documented. Since bitterness boiled over into the stands during the NCAA Regional held in Lafayette in 2003, the two teams have canceled their regular-season series. And that's a shame, because the two universities owe it to their supporters to play against one another. It's OK from a sports standpoint for fans of both teams to hate the opposition, but not to the extent where it leads to altercations in the stands and allowing it to dictate who a team plays. "I'm a product of the Cajuns," Girouard said. "I know how important it is to beat LSU. It was important to me as a coach and as a volleyball player (at UL) to beat LSU. It's just like how I want to beat Alabama now. It's not ugly or vicious. I just want to beat them." The rest of the commentary

[RaginFan2]

Good commentary. I wonder if the Advocate will run a similar one for the other side of the Basin.

[Turbine]

Good commentary. I wonder if the Advocate will run a similar one for the other side of the Basin.

I have mixed feelings on the story. Great points no doubt, except they don’t fit history as claimed.

First I think it is an overstatement to say “Since bitterness boiled over into the stands during the NCAA Regional held in Lafayette in 2003"

I'm not saying so because the regional was in 2002, but rather this "bitterness" mentioned was grossly overstated. Bertman did state in one story he was shocked to see fans root against LSU in a game their team was not involved in. Did fans get loud? Yes. Did fans get roudy? Yes. Did fans do any more than dihard home fans normally do? No.

Perhaps close confines made it appear more intense than normal, but nothing of bad note -in the stands- created a stand alone news story.

In fact I contend that if not for baseball's "on the field" situation a couple weeks later, the 2002 softball regional would not be mentioned in today’s commentary.

jmo

[CajunCharlie]

I have mixed feelings on the story. Great points no doubt, except they don’t fit history as claimed.

First I think it is an overstatement to say “Since bitterness boiled over into the stands during the NCAA Regional held in Lafayette in 2003"

I'm not saying so because the regional was in 2002, but rather this "bitterness" mentioned was grossly overstated. Bertman did state in one story he was shocked to see fans root against LSU in a game their team was not involved in. Did fans get loud? Yes. Did fans get roudy? Yes. Did fans do any more than dihard home fans normally do? No.

Perhaps close confines made it appear more intense than normal, but nothing of bad note -in the stands- created a stand alone news story.

In fact I contend that if not for baseball's "on the field" situation a couple weeks later, the 2002 softball regional would not be mentioned in today’s commentary.

jmo

That quote by Bertman is a holier than thou statement. He must have selected hearing and sight to not have seen fans rooting against UL in a game their team was not involved in.

Don't know if you were there, but the fan behavior in the stands was not pleasant. I can put up with the LSU chant, but when my lineage and character are attacked, I take umbrage with that.

So, they needn't worry about me adding fuel to the fire. After that fiasco I promised myself that I would not going to set foot on that campus again for an athletic event between UL and LSU. I am getting too old for that BS. Besides discretion is the better part of valor.

[UL_Cajuns]

Lets just hope its about the kids again!