“Battle for the Rag” Once a great rivalry

The main discussion board for everything Tulane athletics related.
Post Reply
User avatar
tpstulane
Top of the WAVE
Posts: 26665
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:56 pm
Status: Offline

Nice to see the TP mention the old Tulane vs LSU football rivalry especially with Dec 1 coming up.
http://www.nola.com/300/2017/11/lsu-tul ... short_home
Does Tulane even have a football rival anymore?
And what about LSU?
A real shame LSU put an end to it in football to play teams like Troy. :lol: :oops:


Be proactive, being reactive is for losers..
Tulane Class of 1981
lurker123
Swell
Posts: 1300
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:01 pm
Status: Offline

Is Rag still MIA?
galvezwave
Swell
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:34 am
Status: Offline

I miss the rivalry greatly. It's popular around here to blame lsu for its demise. But it's Tulane's fault it became non competitive. It would have never became stale if Tulane kept playing football instead of being allowed to slide to near oblivion. I'm hopeful that the new administration and leadership has interest in getting the program to the point that the rivalry could be renewed. If Tulane is good, lsu has pressure to show their superiority. They were pressured in 98 and ended up playing us.
User avatar
tpstulane
Top of the WAVE
Posts: 26665
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:56 pm
Status: Offline

galvezwave wrote:I miss the rivalry greatly. It's popular around here to blame lsu for its demise. But it's Tulane's fault it became non competitive. It would have never became stale if Tulane kept playing football instead of being allowed to slide to near oblivion. I'm hopeful that the new administration and leadership has interest in getting the program to the point that the rivalry could be renewed. If Tulane is good, lsu has pressure to show their superiority. They were pressured in 98 and ended up playing us.
It was non competitive for 25 years before we beat them though. I became all about money. LSU replaced us with non competitive teams. They didn’t want to play a home and home like it had been for over 100 years. The SEC added teams and LSU had to give up a non conference game. So they won’t travel OOC unless it’s a big payday at a neutral site. I’d doubt if they’d even agree to a 2 for 1 now and the 1 would be at the Super Dome in which they’d have home field advantage at this point.
Be proactive, being reactive is for losers..
Tulane Class of 1981
galvezwave
Swell
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:34 am
Status: Offline

If Tulane is in the top 20 and the media is dropping hints that lsu couldn't beat them, and we're all here running our mouths, the money excuse would lose its traction. Lsu fans would start running their mouth and we'd end up having to play. That's kinda what happened in the wake of the 98 season. rich rod vs nick? In state? Are you kidding? Of course Tulane screws it up.
galvezwave
Swell
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:34 am
Status: Offline

Lsu has always been insecure about Tulane.
Wavetime
Swell
Posts: 1188
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:11 am
Status: Offline

tpstulane wrote:Nice to see the TP mention the old Tulane vs LSU football rivalry especially with Dec 1 coming up.
http://www.nola.com/300/2017/11/lsu-tul ... short_home
Does Tulane even have a football rival anymore?
And what about LSU?
A real shame LSU put an end to it in football to play teams like Troy. :lol: :oops:

It's funny, I go round and round with some of my LSU friends about this, and in the end they always cave in. LSU and Tulane are natural rivals, always were, always will be. Alabama has Auburn and Tennessee, the Mississippi schools have each other, Texas A&M has the old SWC schools as does Arkansas. We are LSU's rival and vice versa.

We can go on and on and on about whose fault it is, both have blame. But so does the almighty dollar!
galvezwave
Swell
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:34 am
Status: Offline

It's funny this drummed up thing with Arkansas they made up. Neither fan base gives a crap.
Wavetime
Swell
Posts: 1188
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:11 am
Status: Offline

galvezwave wrote:If Tulane is in the top 20 and the media is dropping hints that lsu couldn't beat them, and we're all here running our mouths, the money excuse would lose its traction. Lsu fans would start running their mouth and we'd end up having to play. That's kinda what happened in the wake of the 98 season. rich rod vs nick? In state? Are you kidding? Of course Tulane screws it up.

If we do start winning and going to bowl games, I do believe (and hope) that we will play each other again. I had heard a while back (once again a rumor) that LSU would drop a non-conference game every year to play us, but in BR. If that was true, then we did the right thing by turning that down. There are many rivalries that span beyond conferences (Georgia/Ga Tech, The Florida Schools, Clemson/S. Carolina), but I'm not sure if there are any that bridge the P5 and G5 (which is crap anyway).

I do miss this rivalry, everything about it!!! I get excited to watch Tulane and LSU play any sport (Football is #1 for me though).
Wavetime
Swell
Posts: 1188
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:11 am
Status: Offline

galvezwave wrote:It's funny this drummed up thing with Arkansas they made up. Neither fan base gives a crap.

My brother lived in NW Arkansas for a period of time and all of his Arkansas friends miss the old SWC teams. I bet the same is true for Texas A&M, Missouri and Nebraska.
galvezwave
Swell
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:34 am
Status: Offline

What drives me crazy is that Tulane is capable of transcending that G5 label. There aren't many. BYU is another and they do a better job than us. But they have been hurt by that label too. I think it's that they're national universities and not some small directionals.

I think Colorado-Colorado state still have a little thing going. BYU - Utah? Still not Deep South football
galvezwave
Swell
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:34 am
Status: Offline

Wavetime wrote:
galvezwave wrote:It's funny this drummed up thing with Arkansas they made up. Neither fan base gives a crap.

My brother lived in NW Arkansas for a period of time and all of his Arkansas friends miss the old SWC teams. I bet the same is true for Texas A&M, Missouri and Nebraska.

Arkansas-Texas, Arkansas -Oklahoma were huge games. It's not the same for Arkansas now.
Wave QB
Swell
Posts: 2251
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:09 am
Status: Offline

I only want to see LSU again when we are a winning program and have the talent to pull off an upset or can be competitive. Right now, we need to focus on winning more than 7 games a year, and knowing that teams like FIU will be W's for us.
IM42lane
Swell
Posts: 2134
Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2010 2:36 pm
Location: Hammond, LA 70401-1519
Contact:
Status: Offline

Wave QB wrote: I only want to see LSU again when we are a winning program and have the talent to pull off an upset or can be competitive. Right now, we need to focus on winning more than 7 games a year , and knowing that teams like FIU will be W's for us .
You are absolutely correct . If Tulane can get back to the level of play that was achieved by the 1997-1998 teams, then we can talk about renewing a rivalry with LSU. However, if that does become a definite possibility, get ready for LSU to always argue that all of the games should be held in Tiger Stadium (cap. 102,000 +). The argument about losing BIG $$$ will always come up (playing in a 102,000 size stadium versus the Superdome capacity, which is at least 20,000 less).
Regards,
"Pete" Madere
Ruski
Swell
Posts: 1821
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:58 pm
Status: Offline

Wavetime wrote:
galvezwave wrote:It's funny this drummed up thing with Arkansas they made up. Neither fan base gives a crap.

My brother lived in NW Arkansas for a period of time and all of his Arkansas friends miss the old SWC teams. I bet the same is true for Texas A&M, Missouri and Nebraska.
I can tell you Mizzou fans really miss the Border War with Kansas. There were some smaller rivalries with Iowa State, Oklahoma, and Colorado in the old Big 8. Also a Tulane-LSU type of rivalry in Saint Louis-Mizzou, SLU fans still hate Mizzou with fire but most Mizzou fans under 40 don't give a rats ass. Mizzou-Arkansas is slowly taking shape but Arkansas is such do-nothing state that most Missourians never think about it. Same reason Missouri got it's bootheel.

Man, rivalries are fun. Infuriating that out of touch money men screwed everything up for the real fans. :evil: :x
DfromCT
Wild Pelican
Posts: 13003
Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2011 1:50 pm
Location: Stamford, CT
Status: Offline

galvezwave wrote:What drives me crazy is that Tulane is capable of transcending that G5 label. There aren't many. BYU is another and they do a better job than us. But they have been hurt by that label too. I think it's that they're national universities and not some small directionals.

I think Colorado-Colorado state still have a little thing going. BYU - Utah? Still not Deep South football
We are capable of transcending the G5 label, but haven't been even a sniff away from doing so since 1998. There are at least a dozen, probably 20 (or more) G5 programs that are a BOATLOAD closer to P5 than Tulane. 20 years of losing does that. Heck there's 4 or 5 in AAC alone. I tell you what, until about 3 or 4 years ago, "directional" ECU was much more respected than Tulane and closer to P5 status. Being a national university, and more so an international university has hurt Tulane's football program and perception of the football program more than it has helped. The few alumni that care are mostly out of town. Our fan base is miniscule. And don't think the size of the fan base is unimportant. We don't get TV (or digital media) ratings anywhere close to the top 60% of D1 football. We could play LSU at Tiger Stadium, Yulman, and the Dome in a 3 year rotation and LSU would have more fans at all three venues. It would take at least 10 years of winning 8+ games to change that. Unless, of course, LSU was to totally go in the tank, which they haven't done in a long time.

We drew 20K ONCE this season. ONCE. And we know the count was bogus week after week. Many times the stadium seemed less than 1/3 full. Our real attendance probably averaged 11k, if we're lucky. We need to win and win regularly to build a fan base. Until we do so, talk of us "transcending the G5 label" is a nice pipe dream, but a long way from reality.

I miss the rivalry and wish we played LSU every year on Thanksgiving Day, or Thanksgiving weekend.
" If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day.." Jimmy V
galvezwave
Swell
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:34 am
Status: Offline

DfromCT wrote:
galvezwave wrote:What drives me crazy is that Tulane is capable of transcending that G5 label. There aren't many. BYU is another and they do a better job than us. But they have been hurt by that label too. I think it's that they're national universities and not some small directionals.

I think Colorado-Colorado state still have a little thing going. BYU - Utah? Still not Deep South football
We are capable of transcending the G5 label, but haven't been even a sniff away from doing so since 1998. There are at least a dozen, probably 20 (or more) G5 programs that are a BOATLOAD closer to P5 than Tulane. 20 years of losing does that. Heck there's 4 or 5 in AAC alone. I tell you what, until about 3 or 4 years ago, "directional" ECU was much more respected than Tulane and closer to P5 status. Being a national university, and more so an international university has hurt Tulane's football program and perception of the football program more than it has helped. The few alumni that care are mostly out of town. Our fan base is miniscule. And don't think the size of the fan base is unimportant. We don't get TV (or digital media) ratings anywhere close to the top 60% of D1 football. We could play LSU at Tiger Stadium, Yulman, and the Dome in a 3 year rotation and LSU would have more fans at all three venues. It would take at least 10 years of winning 8+ games to change that. Unless, of course, LSU was to totally go in the tank, which they haven't done in a long time.

We drew 20K ONCE this season. ONCE. And we know the count was bogus week after week. Many times the stadium seemed less than 1/3 full. Our real attendance probably averaged 11k, if we're lucky. We need to win and win regularly to build a fan base. Until we do so, talk of us "transcending the G5 label" is a nice pipe dream, but a long way from reality.

I miss the rivalry and wish we played LSU every year on Thanksgiving Day, or Thanksgiving weekend.

Well, yeah. Hence the term "capable". Tulane has to stop sucking,one could say that's a pipe dream in and of itself. I disagree with you about Tulane status among its peers (G5).there is not 20 "closer" programs in G5. Every single team in the G5 that's currently "ahead" of Tulane. Is 1 bad hire away from empty stadiums and 2-9 records. In the drop of a hat. They're all fighting over the same crumbs. All of em. Ucf could be 1-10 a year from now. But yeah , quit sucking first and foremost. That's a start
winwave
Top of the WAVE
Posts: 24911
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2011 10:34 am
Status: Offline

DfromCT wrote:
galvezwave wrote:What drives me crazy is that Tulane is capable of transcending that G5 label. There aren't many. BYU is another and they do a better job than us. But they have been hurt by that label too. I think it's that they're national universities and not some small directionals.

I think Colorado-Colorado state still have a little thing going. BYU - Utah? Still not Deep South football
We are capable of transcending the G5 label, but haven't been even a sniff away from doing so since 1998. There are at least a dozen, probably 20 (or more) G5 programs that are a BOATLOAD closer to P5 than Tulane. 20 years of losing does that. Heck there's 4 or 5 in AAC alone. I tell you what, until about 3 or 4 years ago, "directional" ECU was much more respected than Tulane and closer to P5 status. Being a national university, and more so an international university has hurt Tulane's football program and perception of the football program more than it has helped. The few alumni that care are mostly out of town. Our fan base is miniscule. And don't think the size of the fan base is unimportant. We don't get TV (or digital media) ratings anywhere close to the top 60% of D1 football. We could play LSU at Tiger Stadium, Yulman, and the Dome in a 3 year rotation and LSU would have more fans at all three venues.
It would take at least 10 years of winning 8+ games to change that. Unless, of course, LSU was to totally go in the tank, which they haven't done in a long time.

We drew 20K ONCE this season. ONCE. And we know the count was bogus week after week. Many times the stadium seemed less than 1/3 full. Our real attendance probably averaged 11k, if we're lucky. We need to win and win regularly to build a fan base. Until we do so, talk of us "transcending the G5 label" is a nice pipe dream, but a long way from reality.

I miss the rivalry and wish we played LSU every year on Thanksgiving Day, or Thanksgiving weekend.
With the schedule we play it will take winning 10+ every year and the two losses better be damn competitive. As for our actual attendance it's al ot closer to 5k than 11k. On top of that usually half the crowd were the opponents fans.
BAYWAVE&Sophandros are SPINELESS COWARDS
YOU NEED LEVERAGE TO BE PROACTIVE!
Small time facilities for small time programs
6-4-23:Now all of the mistakes Tulane has made finally catches up with them as they descend to CUSAAC.
tufinal4
High Tide
Posts: 269
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:21 am
Status: Offline

Despite everything above, the fact is Tulane & LSU signed a 10 year home and home for 2006 thru 2015. Skip Bertman saw the wisdom of this, and Tulane bent over backwards on the revenue, giving LSU 40,000 tickets to sell & keep in the Dome while Tulane got $250k to play in BR. Bertman happily signed this, with no concerns about competitivenesd etc.

The LSU Baton Rouge big donors couldn't stand the thought of giving Tulane a home & home and pressed incessantly. As soon as Alleva arrived they got to him; he is a weak guy and wanted to make them happy. He openly bragged to the LSU people at the 2008 CWS in Omaha that he would kill the series.

Tulane did nothing to kill this series.
User avatar
tpstulane
Top of the WAVE
Posts: 26665
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:56 pm
Status: Offline

tufinal4 wrote:Despite everything above, the fact is Tulane & LSU signed a 10 year home and home for 2006 thru 2015. Skip Bertman saw the wisdom of this, and Tulane bent over backwards on the revenue, giving LSU 40,000 tickets to sell & keep in the Dome while Tulane got $250k to play in BR. Bertman happily signed this, with no concerns about competitivenesd etc.

The LSU Baton Rouge big donors couldn't stand the thought of giving Tulane a home & home and pressed incessantly. As soon as Alleva arrived they got to him; he is a weak guy and wanted to make them happy. He openly bragged to the LSU people at the 2008 CWS in Omaha that he would kill the series.

Tulane did nothing to kill this series.
Yep
Be proactive, being reactive is for losers..
Tulane Class of 1981
Post Reply