In LA, which is bigger LSU or the Saints?

ohio1317

With the Super Bowl coming up, I got to thinking a little about the differences between college football and the NFL. I know both have massive followings, but that the NFL is much bigger on a national scale. In Ohio though, I'd say Ohio State has a much bigger following than the Browns and Bengals. This is admittedly all coming from someone from Columbus, but I think if you look at the state as a whole, it still holds true even if it’s not true in all areas.

I was wondering how it is in SEC country. All else being equal, in a normal season, is there more buzz for the Tigers than the Saints? Thanks.

bhelmLSU

LSU by far but the bandwagon is larger for the Saints than it has ever been before. That is a given though considering the Saints history.

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QBLuke

LSU easily, half of the so called Who Dat nation weren't even Saints fans until about 3 months ago.

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houtiger

LSU is generally the bigger fan favorite, which has has a history of success. We had rough decades in the 70's and the 90's, but good success in the late 50's, 60's, and 80's, and of course the last decade has been our best ever.

The Saints have not traditionally enjoyed success, until the last decade.

I enjoy the college game a lot more, it seems less tainted by big money. The big money goes to the pro's heads, and what happens off the field can be inspiring in some cases, but can also be very sad in more cases than happens in college kids.

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Richdog

i guess you didn't see tiger stadium in the mid 90's when we would lose to UAB.

QBLuke

Well I was born in 86, I fully remember the loss to UAB, but I hadn't yet been to a game at TS. Tulane 00 was my first Tiger Stadium experience.

I will say though, that Louisiana is known for bandwagoneers (see Hornets, Saints, LSU) but those who are on and off bandwagons care more passionately about LSU even when they are bad then they do the Saints.

Funny though how everyone is a Saints fan now.

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lsudolemite

I have to agree. I've seen more people in Saints gear this season around BR than I've ever seen before. That's not to say the Saints don't have their fan strongholds in and around NOLA, but overall LSU is bigger, and it ain't even close.

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QBLuke

But, but, but, no city is more connected to their team than New Orleans!

Biggest crock being spouted by the media this year.

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lp

I am a big saints fan but they still are second behind LSU.

TigerFan23

You don't think that's true?

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lsudolemite

Well keep in mind the media has to have their little storylines in place heading into the Super Bowl. The "connected to the city" thing is starting to wear a bit thin IMO. It's more than a little disingenuous to see old man Benson out there celebrating the NFC championship and talking about what it means to the city when he was more than willing to sell the team down the river (or across the country) before Katrina when little baby wanted his brand new stadium.

The other one is how the all-great, all-knowing, all-powerful Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, and Johnny Unidas-rolled-into-one, best QB of this or any other era Peyton Manning is going to steamroll the Saints. There really seems to be a concerted effort over the last few days to let this game be his coronation among the greats and cement his legacy, where just 2 weeks ago this was supposed to be one of the best SB matchups ever. Now, if you listen to the talking heads, the Saints might as well not even have bothered to show up in Miami they'll be so humiliated. And I really don't get it, b/c the Colts haven't been blowing out any good teams all season, and to be perfectly honest, I think the Saints played and beat a better overall team than the Colts in the Vikings.

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LSUGradin99

So says the young man in Atlanta...................

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QBLuke

Nope, I just haven't changed that. Went to LSU from 04-08 and was living in Baton Rouge up until 3 weeks ago.

Considering before this season most people would classify their relationship with the Saints as "off and on" no I don't. Every city rallies around its team when they go to the Super Bowl. "Who Dat Nation" is no different to me than "Dirty Bird" mania in 1998, or any other team that has made a run to the Super Bowl.

I'd argue that Philadelphia, Buffalo, and the New York market supports their team way more than the Saints fans who until this season were always expecting the worst.

The fact that Drew Brees mentions Katrina in every post-game interview doesn't help. Funnily enough, the Colts have a starter playing who was actually here during that time and actively helping in Joseph Addai. He knows more about the effects of Katrina than Drew Brees ever could, but since Brees hammers in a nail on a United Way commercial and mentions it after every game, the media has run away with "the spirit of New Orleans" story.

Not to trivialize the hurricane, but I do feel that too much has been made about sports' effect on rebuilding. Sports is a diversion, it's not a cure all. Drew Brees needs to shut up about it IMO. It was 4 and a half years ago and he wasn't even here.

/a Falcons fan's .02

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islstl

Across the entire state of Louisiana, no doubt the New Orleans Saints.

This is much bigger than LSU winning the National Championship. And that's taking nothing away from LSU winning it twice in this decade. It was an amazing feat and one we will never forget.

But make no bones about it, the Saints winning a Super Bowl is otherworldly. It is beyond our wildest dreams.

No contest.

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LSUTigerDad

Totally agree.

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bhelmLSU

I disagree with the 1st statement.

Hell, they only show Saints games in North Louisiana when the Cowboys aren't playing. Go to Wild Wings here in Baton Rouge and half or more of the place is filled with Cowboy fans.

You go to the beach anywhere along the Gulf Coast and you see LSU, not the Saints.

Saints winning the Superbowl is otherwordly. Never seen so many Saints fans in my life. I saw my 1st Saints street sale outside of N.O. ever the other day, it was like seeing a ghost.

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"Nothing's more annoying than someone asking a political question during a sporting event. It's not just impolite, it's criminal. If Les Miles goes 5-for-5 in fourth-down conversions, I don't care who he votes for." James Carville

Nutriaitch

2000 football season.
Saint win the division, and host a 1st round playoff game.
Saints needed to be granted an extension TWICE just to sell out the game.
Needed extra days to get up to 78,0000 for a PLAYOFF game.

LSU gets 90,0000+ to show up against a 1AA school in September.
in a city considerably smaller than NOLA was at the time.

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Tiger Trey

LSU by far. The Tigers have decades of tradition. People like me grew up listening to Tiger games on the radio when ABC had the "Game of the Week" and you could only count on seeing the Tigers 2-3 times a year. In the 70s the Tigers were "THE" team in every parish throughout the whole state of Louisiana.

The Saints are my favorite NFL team. Have been since the 80s. I am thrilled for their success right now and would be so happy for a SB win. Having said that, they will never have that same appeal to me that the Tigers have. A Tiger NC means more although a Saints championship would be special because it seemed like something that just couldn't happen.

As a kid I'm not sure the the Saints were the most popular NFL team in the state back then outside of N.O. I grew up in North LA and the Saints were a distant third to Landry's Cowboys and local hero Terry Bradshaw's Steelers. (Maybe even fourth to the Houston Oilers) I think that there were a lot of folks back then who liked the Saints, but since the Saints never got much positive momentum going they would pull for Terry and the Steelers and curse the Cowboys who were on their TV screens in place of the Saints every Sunday. My late father in law was like that.

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ThePhenom74

Overall Id say LSU. College football is the best sport there is. Most of the top colleges have a much bigger following than NFL teams. Although overall the NFL is more popular as a whole.

That said, the Saints winning it all will be far bigger than LSU winning it all. The Saints are symbolic of the state sticking together after the storms of '05. Add to that the futility of 40+ years. Ive always been a LSU fan as long as I can remember but I wont lie, I had never cheered for the Saints until after Katrina. Wanting to bring some joy to the city. Since then Ive always cheered them.

stevescookin

Here's a real big clue....LSU season tickets are a lot more expensive than Saints season tickets.

I remember leaving a Saints game once and the crowd around me was yelling "L S U...L S U !!"

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Rece@2022

LSU and it "aint" even close... LSU's roster is full of kids from the state, there are a just a few on the Saints. The Saints owner just tried to move the team after Katrina...what a connection to a city. BS. Just look at Tiger Stadium after Katrina for each of the teams that played there. Where there any Saints fans there a night after the Tigers were sold out.....uh, no. By admission I am a Cowboys fan, but don't HATE the Saints, just the all of a sudden Saints fans. Go Joe Addai, that's who I will be cheering this Sunday. I can't wait to read about Spring Football later this month, Geaux Tigers!

TigerKid05

I consider myself a die-hard LSU fans and a casual to mildly obsessive Saints fan. I've been a fan of both since birth. the thing about the Saints is that they have been loser for so long that to get worked up about it would have killed most of us by now. LSU on the other has enjoyed success on some level ever since i was born. When 1 sport is down, usually some other sport picks up the slack. Also have more than one sport at LSU makes it easier to dive into. You are always following something LSU. That said, I think that LA has a bigger LSU fan-base because it's the flagship of the state and has been before the Saints came into existence. Also, I still think Northern Louisiana loves the Cowboys.

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"When I was in college I used to get wicked hammered. My nickname was Puke. I would chug a fifth of So Co, sneak into a frat party, polish off a few people's empties, some brewskies, some Jell-o shots, do some body shots off myself... Pass out, wake up the next morning, boot, rally, more So Co, head to class. Probably would've got expelled if I had've let it affect my grades but I aced all my courses. They called me Ace. It was totally awesome. Got straight B's. They called me Buzz."

*LSUTiger*

LSU

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COramprat

It's LSU by far...just look at all of the fan gear when you are out and it is all LSU. Saints took off after the Katrina year and made up some ground but since LSU has had success in various sports over the years it easily out paces the one sport Saints. Not the closer you get to New Orleans it sways big time but overall...LSU hands down.

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Get On It Racing

MLUTiger

I made a modification for accuracy. I lived in Monroe my entire life and never missed a Saints pre-season game, much less a regular season game.

The thing is that in Monroe, you have ULM fans who are Saints fans. In Ruston you have LaTech fans who are Saints fans. In Lafayette you have ULL fans who are Saints fans. Some of these same fans are LSU fans as well, but many are not. In New Orleans you have a few LSU fans, but all Saints fans. In Baton Rouge you have all LSU fans and over half are Saints fans. Shreveport is a solid 50/50 Saints/Cowboys fans thanks to the owner of the Fox station being a rabid Cowboys fan, Jerry Jones marketing in S'port fervently and Tom Benson ignoring the market for years. I know the title says "in LA", but the Saints also have appeal to the Gulf Coast states and LSU does not.

Strictly going by population, you're going to have more Saints fans than LSU fans. What to wear is usually determined by who's winning for either team, unless you're living in New Orleans or Baton Rouge.

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