Magnificent, maddening, thrilling, heartbreaking -- over the
years, LSU football has been called many things; boring is not
among them. But no period in the team's history exemplifies the
extreme highs and lows of sport better than the past fifteen years.
In 1993, the Tigers were in the midst of a record six-season losing
streak and the program was struggling to dig its way out of its
darkest days. By 2008, LSU had emerged as one of the premier
college football powers in the nation and the unprecedented
two-time winner of the BCS national championship. In The Fighting
Tigers, 1993--2008, award-winning sportswriter Scott Rabalais
chronicles the Tigers' fantastic rise to the top of the college
football universe, vividly detailing the victories and defeats, the
coaches and the players, the tears and the titles of this sometimes
frustrating, always fascinating period of LSU football.
Game by game, Rabalais recounts the tenures of the four head
coaches who led the Tigers during these years -- "Curley" Hallman,
the strict taskmaster whose mounting losses created dissension and
apathy among the Tiger faithful; Gerry DiNardo, the charismatic
salesman whose efforts to "Bring Back the Magic" temporarily
vaulted the Tigers again into the national polls; Nick Saban, the
intense workhorse who steadily rebuilt the program and led the team
to its first national championship in almost fifty years; and Les
Miles, the engaging wildcard who finally emerged from Saban's
shadow with a championship of his own. Rabalais provides expert
analysis of the 2004 and 2008 BCS national championship games and
other postseason bowl games as well as the "ordinary" games that
have crossed over into legendary status -- 1993's "Pigs Will Fly"
victory against Alabama, "The Night the Barn Burned" at Auburn in
1996, and 2002's "Bluegrass Miracle." Along the way, Rabalais
recounts the incredible athletic feats of numerous standout
players, including Eddie Kennison, Kevin Faulk, Josh Reed, Michael
Clayton, Marcus Spears, Chad Lavalais, and Glenn Dorsey.
Throughout, Rabalais interweaves off-the-field events that have
affected or enhanced the LSU football legacy: the return of the
traditional home white jerseys; the creation of the Bengal Belles;
two expansions of Tiger Stadium; the death of Mike V and the
introduction of Mike VI; and perhaps most poignant, the Tigers'
volunteer efforts and emotional responses in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.
An appendix contains the vital statistics of LSU's entire
football history. Individual and team records in every area,
coaching records, All-Americans and Academic All-Americans,
year-by-year results, top ten Tiger Stadium crowds, Tigers in pro
football -- all of this and more will satisfy even the most
hardcore LSU sports statistician. Peter Finney, venerable author of
the three previous volumes of The Fighting Tigers, passes the
official historian's torch to Rabalais in a compelling foreword
that emphasizes the significance of the Tigers' recent run of
success.
To many die-hard Tiger fans, LSU football is a religion all its
own. With The Fighting Tigers, 1993--2008, Rabalais has written the
next book of its bible.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!