Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry didn't hold back in his criticism of LSU's football team following their significant loss to Alabama.
Speaking at the “Politics with a Punch” event, Landry reflected on LSU’s 42-13 loss, framing it as a disappointment not only for the team but for Louisiana residents and Tiger fans across the nation. He delivered a stinging remark that has since circulated widely:
“Our tiger, our live tiger, unfortunately, disappointingly, was the only tiger who showed up Saturday," he said via On3.
But Landry’s critique didn’t stop with the team’s on-field performance. The governor also used this moment to defend the longstanding LSU tradition of bringing a live tiger to the stadium, a custom that returned for the first time in a decade ahead of the Alabama matchup.
“It’s about tradition. At the end of the day, these woke people have tried to take tradition out of this country.”
He argued that many LSU fans and Louisiana natives remember the thrill of seeing Mike the Tiger on the sidelines, a fixture of the school’s storied history.
While the live tiger stunt succeeded in stirring up pre-game excitement, it couldn’t boost the Tigers' performance, as Alabama’s quarterback Jalen Milroe led his team to a dominant win with 185 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
With the loss, LSU fell to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the SEC. The Tigers have now lost two-straight — to Alabama and Texas A&M — and they are firmly out of the College Football Playoff race, barring some major chaos happening at the top of the conference.
LSU will look to stop the bleeding this weekend with a trip to Florida. After the road game against the Gators, LSU will return back home for its final two games, against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. While 9-3 will likely not be good enough for the Tigers to get into the College Football Playoff race, much of that will depend on what happens with the rest of the conference and where the committee places them tonight in the latest rankings.