A STAR IS BORN
Read on page 2
Baton Rouge native Noah James is rising to country music fame.
NEXT BIG THING
Budding artist Noah James makes a splash at his hometown debut
BY LAURA ALLEN Staff Writer
Budding artist Noah James makes a splash at his hometown debut. - subhead?
The Station Sports Bar and Grill was alive with the thrumming of guitar strings and steady rhythm of country music on Sept. 18. Although it was only his second live show, Noah James was not nervous — the audience was filled with family and friends there to support the up-and-coming country singer’s hometown debut.
At only 18 years old, the Baton Rouge native has already made waves in the country music industry. James first gained traction on TikTok, where he began posting himself singing covers and original songs in late 2023. His account now stands at 298 thousand followers and 8.6 million likes. After only a year of posting, James signed with Santa Anna Records, a label under Sony Music.
“I never thought it would, you know, turn into a career this fast,” said James. “You know, I thought maybe four or five years down the line.”
James grew up surrounded by music. His father is a professional jazz musician who passed on his love of music to James. Each of his siblings grew up singing together and learning how to play instruments at a very young age, James said. His first instrument was the electric bass.
However, he took a break from music at the age of 12 after his music teacher’s passing and did not pick it back up for three years. At 15, James decided to pursue music once again. He learned guitar and picked up singing, but something was still not clicking.
Despite living in the South, James did not listen to much country music growing up, and all of his musical influences were in other genres. His biggest inspirations were pop artists like Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes, whom he still looks up to, but he was struggling to find his voice through pop.
That all changed when he discovered country music. Artists like Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan became James’ biggest inspirations, their gritty musicality and compelling lyricism drawing the young singer-songwriter in. Soon after, he was hooked.
“I really like the more poetry type of writing, and I think that Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan really capture that in all their songs,” said James.
James posted a cover of Bryan’s “Pink Skies” to TikTok in Dec. 2024. His account had already begun to gain some traction, but this video went viral. It garnered hundreds of views, then thousands, then millions—the numbers just kept climbing. As of
Sept. 24, the cover sits at 31.7 million views on TikTok.
James’ virality did not go unnoticed. Soon, record labels began contacting James, and after some deliberation, the artist signed with Santa Anna Records. Under this label, James released his debut EP “The Tracks,” which he wrote with the help of his older brother Micah and his brother’s girlfriend.
Inspired by the emotional depth of Kahan and Bryan’s lyrics, James knew he wanted to draw from his own life.
His song “Kind Tired Eyes” was written for his grandmothers, who have both passed. James’ whole family was touched by the song.
“My mom definitely cried,” James said, “and it definitely hit all of us really deep.”
His title song “The Tracks” draws from his life in a unique way. Based on the love story of Ally and Noah from “The Notebook,” the movie for which James was named, “The Tracks” tells the story of a wealthy girl and an underprivileged boy falling in love and running away together.
Since starting his music career, James said that songwrit-
ing has been a nonstop process. Even when he is not deliberately sitting down with pen to paper, the young artist is constantly running through melodies and lyrics in his head.
“Obviously sometimes I’m more inspired than others,” said James. “Like last night, I was more inspired, so I picked up my guitar at 2 a.m. and started writing.”
All of James’ songs from “The Tracks” made it on his setlist for his recent show at The Station, as well as covers of Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, Tyler Childers and other country artists. James said that playing one of his first shows in Baton Rouge meant a lot to him, especially getting to perform for so many of his friends and family.
“I played it over in my head so many times,” James said. “Playing my first hometown show, playing any show, so many times over in my head that I wasn’t really nervous getting up there.”
Each song was met with a chorus of applause from both loved ones and strangers, and the audience even sang along to some of the classics like “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “Lady May.”
B-16 Hodges Hall
The whole experience only cemented the singer’s dreams to pursue country music as a career. James’ five-year-goal is to take his show on the road, touring the U.S. and inspiring people from all walks of life through his music. But in the meantime, James is continuing to write songs that he hopes will resonate with audiences.
His new single, “Denim Eyed Dear,” will drop this Friday, Sept. 26, and though he is keeping quiet on other projects in the works, James says fans can rest assured that he has more music in store for this year.
In the end, James feels very blessed to have a platform where he can share his music and connect with others. He admits that it was risky to pursue music fulltime without college as a backup plan, but he ultimately believes he made the right decision.
“I think if I would have had that in my back pocket to fall back on, then I probably would have took that route,” said James. “But because I didn’t, I think that was one of the turning points that made me realize that this is what I’m going to do. This is the only thing I can do.”
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ALEXIS PERSICKE / The Reveille
Noah James performs Sept. 18 at The Station Sports Bar & Grill in Baton Rouge, La.
NEWS CAMPUS CLEAN UP
Keep Louisiana Beautiful, Campus Sustainability collect trash and recycle
BY EMILY BRACHER Staff Writer
Less than 24 hours after an LSU football game, there is little to no sign of the widespread tailgating that took place the day before. LSU’s Campus Sustainability department, an affiliate of Keep Louisiana Beautiful, is the group behind these pristine clean-ups.
After the LSU vs. Vanderbilt football game last year, one ton of recyclables were collected from Tiger Stadium. That’s 12,466 plastic bottles, 19,398 aluminum cans and 8.98 tons of other materials.
Keep Louisiana Beautiful is an organization with the goal of building and sustaining clean communities by reducing litter across the state.
Assistant Director of LSU Campus Sustainability Lisa Mahoney said that as an affiliate, the university receives grants to help with beautification projects, increased recycling receptacles and educational programs promoting sustainability and waste reduction.
“We just want to make sure we are helping prepare students when they leave LSU and they start their career and go into leadership positions, that they’re great environmental stewards,” said Tammy Millican, executive director of LSU Facility and Property Oversight.
Last year, Campus Sustainability partnered with the Osprey Initiative, a specialty environmental contractor, to improve recycling efforts during gameday. Osprey made specialized recycling containers in Tiger Stadium and helped them “pick
the bowl,” which meant gathering all of the recyclables they could find in the stadium after the game.
Landscape Services is in charge of placing all of the recycling bins around campus and cleaning them up the next day. Mahoney, Millican and Campus Sustainability support the initiative to keep recycling. Millican said that she believes their success also comes from the efforts of tailgaters who seem to want to reduce their footprint.
“We certainly want to provide those services, we have them available,” Mahoney said. “They should be available for everybody on campus.”
Their recycling efforts are not limited to football season. Per Keep Louisiana Beautiful guidelines, the
department is required to participate in at least four hours of training or education to remain an affiliate. They are also required to track outcomes of all of their volunteer efforts and submit a yearly report to prove they met the requirements. Included in their annual report is a survey where five student volunteers at five pre-determined areas around campus assess the amount and types of litter. This determines if it needs to change the number of recycling bins and trash cans.
During Love the Boot Week, one of Keep Louisiana Beautiful’s biggest annual beautification and sustainability efforts, Campus Sustainability and other organizations host a week of cleanups and other events.
This April’s Love the Boot Week ended with 540 tons of litter removed from all over Louisiana. That is more than double the weight of the Statue of Liberty or around 2,454 Mike the Tigers.
As affiliates they are asked to conduct three focus area activities: litter removal, prevention and recycling.
Mahoney said these efforts have been enhanced with grants. One grant helped them get 85 clearstream recycle bins where people can see exactly what goes in the bin. These help deter tailgaters from throwing contaminated items in with the recycling. Mahoney said someone is less likely to carelessly throw trash in a recycling bin if they can actually see it.
“It’s been super helpful to sort of enhance recycling for game day as being a Keep Louisiana Beautiful affiliate,” Mahoney said.
Millican said that they also go to classrooms at LSU and the University Lab School to talk about sustainability and show the efforts made on campus.
“I think it’s great because our students arrived on campus with a lot of knowledge about sustainability and recycling,” Millican said.
On Campus Sustainability’s website, students can find recycling guidelines and other educational tools. The department loves hearing from students so they can make necessary changes like adding bins to a specific dorm or providing information on where certain disposable items go.
see BEAUTIFUL, page 4
POLITICS
Turning Point tour will still happen
STAFF REPORT
Turning Point USA’s college tour will come to Baton Rouge, with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Allie Beth Stuckey as guest speakers.
The event is part of “The American Comeback Tour” and will be at the Raising Canes River Center on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
The event’s day is the same day the late founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, was scheduled to speak on LSU’s campus before he was fatally shot during his first tour stop at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
The suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, turned himself in to the authorities the next day.
Allie Beth Stuckey is a conservative and Christian commentator who hosts a podcast called “Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey” that focuses on culture, news and politics. She is also a regular guest on Fox News.
Landry spoke at the vigil for Kirk put on by TPUSA at LSU on Sept. 12.
Erika Kirk, his wife and the mother of their two young children, became CEO one week later. She said TPUSA “would carry on Charlie’s mission exactly as he had planned.”
The original tour included two events at LSU, one on LSU’s campus in the Greek Amphitheater and an evening event at the River Center.
LSU disaster management team prepares state for emergencies
BY DREW SARHAN Staff Writer
In Louisiana, where natural disasters are a way of life, plans made by the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute stand as the state’s first line of defense.
SDMI is LSU’s disaster management organization. Not only does it help with natural disasters, but it also assists with civil safety, such as evacuation plans and school disaster response. The name originates from alumni Toni and Emmet Stephenson, when they donated $25 million to LSU in 2007, with approximately half of the money dedicated to starting the institute.
The director of SDMI is Brant Mitchell. Before joining LSU, Mitchell served as the deputy director for interoperability at the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
“[The Stephensons] being very business oriented,” Mitchell said, “they saw the things unfolding during Katrina as kind of some leadership issues. So they came up with the idea that there are principles in the business world that can be applied to disaster management.”
SDMI supports both state and local emergency management organizations, collaborating with local emergency managers to ensure preparedness. SDMI also helps with writing hazard mitigation and emergency operation plans for communities in Louisiana.
“A lot of what we do is we try to leverage technology and build decision support tools that allow disaster managers to make more informed decisions based on data that’s being gathered through an event,” Mitchell said.
SDMI collaborates with state governmental agencies, such as the Governor’s Office of Home -
land Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Louisiana National Guard and the Louisiana Department of Health. The institute has also worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to analyze the evacuation behavior in south Louisiana.
“The idea was we did a massive survey which we asked people in their previous storms, did you evacuate? If you did, where did you go? What routes did you use? Who did you take?” Mitchell said. “It kind of gives the state an idea on future evacuations.”
SDMI has also worked with the federal government, namely the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy, in their cybersecurity sector to prevent ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a computer virus that encrypts the user’s own files, locking them out.
Mitchell recalled a time when SDMI’s cybersecurity team, with the help of the DHS, removed ran-
somware from a major petroleum pipeline.
A few years ago, the Colonial, a major oil pipeline that goes to the northeastern U.S., had a series of ransomware attacks, shutting the pipeline down and causing an economic disaster. Teams with SDMI assisted the federal government in restoring the pipeline.
“It made the Department of Energy realize it needed a more robust cybersecurity capability, so they worked with us to help develop that,” Mitchell said.
SDMI also works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency by developing hazard mitigation plans for 60 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes. FEMA must approve these plans for the local government to be eligible for funding on future disaster mitigation projects.
Lauren Stevens is the institute’s assistant director. She joined SDMI in 2012. Prior to joining SDMI, she served as preparedness section
chief for the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
SDMI board member Mark Cooper, a former director of Louisiana’s Office of Homeland Security, asked Stevens for assistance in a council to review FEMA as a whole. Cooper was one of 10 appointed to a FEMA council by President Donald Trump in January to assess spending in the department.
“The council is going around and meeting with different states and local [governments] that have been impacted by disasters to listen to that community on their concerns about changes with FEMA, their recommendations on how to improve state and federal responses,” Stevens said.
SDMI’s slogan is “Where LSU research meets practice,” which can be seen with storm surge mod-
LUKE RAY / The Reveille Two dumpsters full of trash sit outside South Hall on Sept. 14, in Baton Rouge, La.
Students to vote on Homecoming King, Queen. Meet this year’s court
LSU Campus Life announced this year’s Homecoming Court. There are six candidates for king and six candidates for queen.
LSU students will vote for their favorite candidates for Homecoming King and Queen on TigerLink. Voting opens Sept. 29 and closes Oct. 4.
The Homecoming Court consists of 12 student representatives of the senior class. The court will walk down Victory
, from page 3
Campus Sustainability recently moved to dual-stream recycling, meaning cardboard and paper are collected together and bottles and cans together. Mahoney said they are gaining trust from the student body by showing that what they put in the bins is being recycled.
“There is a lack of trust from the student body on whether or not things are getting recycled,” Mahoney said. “This sort of gives us that autonomy and we can show students firsthand not only through volunteering but online videos of how they are recycling on campus.”
Other ways students can get involved include reverse vending machines in the Student Union. Students can deposit plastic bottles into an automated machine, battery recycling options and film can also be recycled separately and turned
BEAUTIFUL, from page 3
els formulated at LSU. The models are then used by governmental organizations to make public safety decisions, like in New Orleans and their gated hurricane risk reduction system. These models also help search and rescue teams prestage emergency relief operations.
While most of the staff at SDMI have a disaster management background, Robert Iles is an ocean-
Hill before the Homecoming football game against the University of South Carolina on Oct. 11.
At halftime, the court will be recognized, and the king and queen will be announced.
The Homecoming Court represents students who have positively contributed to the LSU community through leadership, service and spirit.
The 2024 Homecoming King was Brian Gage and the Queen was Camille Cronin.
into sustainable wood. The Student Sustainability Fund, started in 2016, supports these projects on campus, Millican said.
Keep Louisiana Beautiful has been around for 25 years and was founded by former Gov. Mike Foster’s wife, Alice Foster. Community Engagement Affiliate Services Director Cabell Mouton said that after being a non-profit organization for most of its existence and a part of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, it was absorbed by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor last year.
That move uplifted their work and protected them from getting defunded, Mouton said.
The organization has a network of 57 local affiliates across the state and thousands of other partners.
Local government houses 44 affiliates and 13 are with universities. LSU was one of the first university
ographer and is one of the few doctorates on staff. He is working with AI to develop a model to plan on the immediate post-disaster needs of a community. These points of distribution, consist of food, water and temporary shelter.
The institute does more than just management after natural disasters. It also creates school safety plans for emergencies such as annotating fire extinguishers or automated external defibrillator
PUZZLES
Queen Candidates
Talor Davlin
Alexis Harvey Avery McLaughlin
Emma Monroe
Iyanna Robinson
Kalayna Walker
King Candidates
Jayden Bates
Mihir Babbar
Ethan Elmer
T’Senre Gray
An Tra Hamood Quershi
affiliates.
Mouton said that Louisiana has a litter problem. According to a study in 2023, Louisiana spends over $91 million cleaning up litter. A big focus is beautifying the entryways into different communities with pretty signs and gardens.
A litter study showed that 80% of the areas maintained will stay clean while areas with more litter are likely to accumulate more.
Keep Louisiana Beautiful exists to eliminate these problems by providing resources and tools to local communities. This includes money given to universities like LSU to help them with their recycling efforts and the installation of recycling receptacles.
“Keep Louisiana Beautiful is the largest and only statewide organization with a mission towards this effort of making a litter-free Louisiana,” Mouton said.
devices. SDMI also conducts meetings with first responders, school administration and emergency managers to assist in developing an evacuation plan in case of a mass casualty event.
“You hear about managing disasters,” Stevens said. “But there is literally an entire network outside of your traditional police, fire and EMS, you have true emergency managers — an entire network nationwide.”
SDMI
STAFF REPORT
CAMPUS LIFE
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAMPUS LIFE
ENTERTAINMENT
9 romances to binge after ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ finale
BY MIA HATTAWAY Staff Writer
The sun has set on season three of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” and fans are already bracing for the upcoming movie, said to be coming out in 2026 at the earliest. The romance doesn’t stop at Cousins Beach, though. If you’re craving more love triangles, family drama and cozy friendships, look no further for some shows and movies to add to your watchlist.
Following the lives of a New England friend group, “Dawson’s Creek” has all of the adolescent melodrama you’ve gotten from “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”
The show centers on Dawson Leery, a young aspiring filmmaker, and his best friends Joey Potter and Pacey Witter as they grow through high school and college.
Appealing to fans of the beachside drama, the show has tropes including childhood friends to lovers, love triangles (yes, multiple) and second chance romance.
“Upgraded,” starring Camila Mendes and Archie Renaux, is a charming romcom about a New York City art intern who meets a handsome stranger when she is upgraded to first class on a flight. In an effort to impress him, she spins a web of lies about her life, which become the basis of a whirlwind romance. This Cinderella retelling is sure to give you all of the Belly-abroad vibes as Mendes’ character explores London while falling in love.
“Love, Rosie” is a love story about childhood best friends that spans over decades, not entirely dissimilar to Belly and Conrad’s. If you couldn’t help but love the “will they, won’t they” of season three, you’re sure to enjoy this frustratingly loveable flick.
“Crush” is the definition of a messy love triangle. Set in high school, the movie’s main character, Paige, is forced to join the track team, which her crush is a part of. The longer she is on the team, though, the more she starts to fall for another teammate. The twist? Her two love interests are twin sisters. Just as messy as the summer series, “Crush” brings us on a journey of self-discovery, friendship and sisterhood.
I would be remiss to not mention “My Life With the Walter Boys,” the hit Netflix series following a teen as she moves to Colorado, navigating grief, adolescence and a tense love triangle with two brothers. The series was originally published on Wattpad and it is every bit as cringey but addicting as it sounds.
If you swap out Cousins Beach for the mountains, you’ve got Jackie, Alex and Cole as replacements for Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad.
This film meditates on how people become entangled in each other’s lives over the span of 24 years. Similar to Belly and Conrad’s motif of infinity, “Past Lives” focuses on fate and the permanence of a first love. If you’re obsessed with men who yearn, you should move this flick up your watchlist.
In this Groundhog’s Day-esque romantic drama, two strangers are stuck reliving the same day. Together, they explore the serendipitous moments that they otherwise would’ve never taken the time to notice.
“The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” is a tender movie that reminds us to take autonomy of our own lives – something that the finale of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” emphasizes.
Starring Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller, “The Spectacular Now” follows an unlikely pairing with a party boy and nerdy girl. Filled with teen angst, this romantic drama has the same vibes as season two of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”
“The Buccaneers,” though taking place in the 1870s, may be just what you’re in the mood for while waiting for “The Summer I Turned Pretty” movie. The show follows a group of young American women as they navigate English high society, friendship and romance. Like Jenny Han’s series, this show largely revolves around a spunky teen who finds herself in the middle of a love triangle, this time with best friends. The supporting characters have plenty of romance themselves, so this show may also bandage the wound of missing Steven and Taylor.
TIMELESS
The face of LSU’s Memorial Tower clock reads the time on Sept. 24.
Fieldhouse Drive is empty, with only streetlights illuminating it, on Sept. 23.
The LSU sign on Tiger Stadium is lit up at night on Sept. 23.
courtyard on Sept. 23.
Two pathways skirt the approach to the student union on Sept. 24.
Paths and bike racks frame the path to the student union in on Sept. 24.
LSU pre-law freshman Matteo Russell sits at the bus stop behind Lockett Hall late on Sept. 23.
ECA on a rainy day on Sept. 24.
A view of Thomas W. Atkinson Hall near the Main Library on Sept. 24.
Leaning book statues decorate the first floor of the Main Library on Sept. 24
The front entrance of the Journalism School is lit up at night on Sept. 23.
Photos by Randi Comeaux, Pilar Franklin & Luke Ray | Design by Riley White
SPORTS
What we learned at women’s basketball’s first practice back
BY TRE ALLEN Staff Writer
After what felt like an eternity, the LSU women’s basketball team finally took the floor on Tuesday afternoon for its first practice open to the public.
While the Tigers’ first exhibition game isn’t for another month, we got a chance to see the new squad after an Elite Eight loss in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Just like in popular Kim Mulkey
fashion, after losing players to the portal and the draft, the head coach reloaded in the offseason by bringing in transfers to accompany her No. 1 high school recruiting class.
However, with so many new faces, she emphasized the importance of spending time together so her team could create chemistry not just on the court, but off the court as well.
“We spent more time this summer than any summer since I’ve
CAN’T MISS
been at LSU, probably in a long time period,” Mulkey said. “Eight of the 13 in uniform this year are new, so that’s going to be a challenge. You don’t know how quickly they’ll pick up on things, but I think it’ll also be fun. I just see a lot of promise, talent, energy and nervousness, but it’ll be fun.”
Among the new eight players that Mulkey and her staff brought in, there’s a focal point on improving in the frontcourt.
The Tigers added Amiya Joyner
from East Carolina, who averaged 15 points and 9.2 assists with the Pirates, and Kate Koval from Notre Dame, who stands at 6-foot-5 and averaged 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks during her freshman year.
The Tigers also brought in a 6-foot-2 true freshman, Grace Knox, who was listed as the No. 6 player in the class of 2025.
This offseason, LSU lost three bigs to the portal: Sa’Myah Smith, Jersey Wolfenbarger and Aalyiah
Ole Miss on Oct. 12, 2024, in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
BY RAMI BURKS Staff Writer
A look into LSU’s historical dominance in Oxford
One of the greatest challenges of the 2025 football season is dawning on LSU for Week 5: the Ole Miss Rebels.
Sure, this isn’t LSU’s first SEC game, but it could be the most important up to this point. Clemson has had a rough season since their loss to the Tigers, and Florida went downhill fast at the same pace.
Head coach Brian Kelly said in the weekly press conference that the approach is the same this week as it is any other week: do their thing and take care of business.
“Now we’re into the SEC for a couple of months and so each and every week is a challenge,” Kelly said. “We know the opposition each week will certainly test us, but now you lean on
your foundational principles. You lean on what your process is and how you go to work every day, your habits.”
In the 2024 season, the Tigers topped the Rebels 29-26 in an iconic victory, but how has the purple and gold fared in Oxford further in the past?
LSU owns the all-time record of 65-38-3 and 20-13-2 in Vaught-Hemmingway. The rivalry dates back all the way to 1894.
In LSU’s 2019 season, Joe Burrow and the hot offense ran through the Rebels, offering a 58-37 victory. At a school known for defense, the offense sure tore through Oxford like a knife with butter.
In 2003, the SEC West title was decided in the LSU-Ole Miss game, and it was a game for the ages. The historically tough LSU defense took down Eli Manning
and the Rebel offense, leading to a high-stakes victory before the national championship in the same season.
Other iconic wins for LSU include the night the clock stood still in 1972. The Tigers threw for a touchdown with four seconds left on the clock to win 17-16, but the Ole Miss players thought the game was already over, which led to conspiracies that more time was added to the playclock.
This rivalry is full of competition, but history proves that the Tigers are on top. This game on the road might have more favor for the Bayou Bandits than most people think. The road is tough in the SEC, but historically the purple and gold have made an unexpected home in Oxford.
“You feel better about [road] games because you’re taking a defense that you know can
stand up against the environment going on the road and all those things,” Kelly said. “And we’re a much more cohesive group [than versus Clemson.] The roster is better, the players are better. Those were good, tough kids that played hard for us.”
Kelly also said that the offense might have been lacking in recent weeks, but he understands that they will have to step up their game heading into the treacherous weeks of SEC play to back up the strong defense LSU has sported so far this season.
If it all clicks for the team, this game should be able to define the season in the most positive way yet.
The biggest battle of the season will begin on Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi for a 2:30 p.m. kick-off time.
If you watched any Mulkey team in recent years, it’s apparent that she builds them through the frontcourt. Players such as Morrow, Angel Reese, LaDazhia Williams, Kalani Brown and so many more saw that development.
Last year, there was an absence of size, depth and athleticism, but
LSU official tells truth behind NIL
BY RAMI BURKS Staff Writer
In the modern era of college sports, it’s hard not to run into the phenomenon that is NIL. NIL, or name, image and likeness, is how the NCAA has legalized paying collegiate athletes. Since June 30, 2021, they have been allowed to benefit financially from their personality and brand in the new digital age.
This sounds great for the athletes; however, there are still the naysayer fans, whose negativity stems mostly from the misconceptions of NIL.
The most prominent misconception is that athletes have money thrown at them for no reason. LSU’s associate athletic director of NILSU, Taylor Jacobs, said this is the farthest thing from the truth.
“The reality is businesses are still looking for that return on investment for them, and they are still really making sure that whoever they do work with will be, one, a good representation of their brand, and two, somebody that would be valuable for them to actually utilize in marketing services,” Jacobs said.
This leads to another common misunderstanding: it is not hard work to profit from your NIL, which Jacobs said is especially untrue.
At LSU, the goal is to help athletes build their individual brand, which means assisting them in displaying their truest, most authentic selves on social media.
Jacobs describes it as another level of support that LSU offers its students, this time specifically for athletes. Like a regular student has access to resources for academics and health, athletes also have NIL resources to help build
Del Rosario. Aneesah Morrow was drafted seventh overall by the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA draft.
MALEAH BOURGEOIS / The Reveille
Former wide receiver Kyren Lacy (2) runs in attempt to complete a pass during LSU’s 29-26 win against
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball concludes nonconference
BY MARISSA REISS Staff Writer
LSU volleyball is no stranger when it comes to producing a fiery offense season after season, and that’s what got the team through a tough nonconference schedule.
Head coach Tonya Johnson’s leadership doesn’t go unrecognized, as she continues to push her team to compete to its very best ability.
The Tigers’ defense started on a bit of a shakier side, but it wasn’t anything that Johnson doesn’t believe they can’t work on and learn from. Johnson’s mentality for her team is to remain poised and view the losses as a maturing opportunity.
LSU opened its season at home with a disappointing loss to SMU, but still showed positives after pushing the No. 10 team at the time to five sets. Following this heartbreaking loss, the Tigers effortlessly swept South Alabama but fell short to Baylor soon after to finish their opening weekend in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers hit the road to compete in the Flo Hyman Classic against Omaha, Houston and San Diego State, leaving the weekend 3-0 as they rallied impressive wins against all three. The Tigers tallied two more sweeps to their record on this roadtrip, those being against Omaha and San Diego State.
LSU went on to face Notre Dame in what became yet another sweep for the Tigers, gaining its fourth consecutive win on the road before heading back home.
When the team arrived back in Baton Rouge to face in-state opponent Southeastern Louisiana, the Tigers outscored the Lions in their fifth consecutive win and fifth sweep of the season.
The team traveled to California to face the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley in the last three nonconference matches of the season this past weekend. LSU fell short to USC in both of its matchups but powered through and took a five-set win over Cal, leaving the Golden State 1-2.
Despite two recent losses on the road against USC, the Tigers remind themselves that they’re not always going to be perfect and instead look at the accomplishments the team has made so far.
Junior outside hitter Jurnee Robinson recorded her 1000th career kill at the USC matchup on Thursday and will not be slowing down any time soon. Robinson totals 200 kills this
LSU club hockey senior forward Sam Chmielowiec (10) faces off against a VooDoo player during LSU’s 7-3 scrimmage win against Louisiana VooDoo on Jan. 15 at Planet Ice Rink in Lafayette, La.
LSU club athletes get a taste of SEC community and experience
BY DELANEY POTTHAST Staff Writer
LSU is a powerhouse for collegiate sports with premier teams in the Southeastern Conference. The school has put out over 400 professional athletes that include big names like Joe Burrow, Shaquille O’Neal and Paul Skenes.
With sports like football, baseball and gymnastics dominating the headlines, club sports remain an overlooked part of LSU athletics.
Club athletes come to LSU from every corner of the globe, some with the intention of continuing the sport they love, and others who have stumbled onto the team they call their family.
“I’ve made many great friends with rugby,” Cameron Coughlin, an LSU rugby player, said. “There’s people on the team that are from abroad, there’s someone from New Zealand and South Africa, someone from Australia.”
Some have come to LSU for the culture that can only be found down in the South. Casey Ruben, a lacrosse team member, said he considered playing somewhere on scholarship, but ended up a Tiger instead.
“I got some smaller D1 and D3 offers, but ultimately, I just wanted the big school experience,” Ruben said. “I didn’t want to go to school with 2000 people.”
These club teams have given players a chance to experience the SEC, while continuing to pursue their love for sports on a different level. Even so, the reality of club sports is rather rough.
For club athletics, every season comes with a price tag. The teams may receive a small portion of funding from UREC budget allo -
cations or occasionally the school’s Program and Support Improvement Fund, but most of the financing is from members themselves.
A team that struggles heavily with monetary support is LSU club hockey. Without a rink on campus, the team finds themselves paying for icetime and driving to Lafayette every week.
The three hour total commute these players tolerate doesn’t even account for the travel expenses they pay while on the road for games.
“A big thing that nobody realizes is that we pay out of pocket,” hockey team captain Anthony Lafranchi said. “Right now for our dues, we gave $2,000 to play hockey for LSU and sometimes pay more. It’s a really big financial commitment.”
Even sports that don’t have much equipment or facility requirements still struggle with finances, as mentioned by the president of the LSU women’s rugby club, Olivia Messa.
“You do have to get a little bit thrifty with money,” Messa said. “I’d say that the team maintains itself pretty well. It’s usually just keeping it going and getting enough money and enough players.”
Paying hundreds or even thousands just to compete can discourage people from joining club sports, but players accept it as the cost of their passion.
Money isn’t the only displacing factor in club sport involvement, as academic sacrifices are also part of the deal.
Unlike varsity athletes who have classes that work around athletic schedules, club members face the struggles of juggling practices with exams and class commitments.
“I was just so exhausted,” Kai-
Column: LSU fine without Durham
BY ADAM KIRSCHMAN Staff Writer
During the game against Southeastern, LSU running back Caden Durham exited in the second quarter due to an ankle injury.
With the matchup against Ole Miss this weekend, the Tigers might struggle to get the ground game going with the lead back limited.
After undergoing an MRI, it was determined that Durham did not sustain a high ankle sprain, making the chances of him playing Saturday likely, according to head coach Brian Kelly.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but we got a good report on him yesterday, and then this morning when we moved them around, it was positive,” Kelly said at Monday’s press conference.
tlyn Hoang, a former water polo club member said when reflecting on her freshman year. “On top of water polo practices twice a week in the evenings, we had swim practices in the mornings, also twice, so really picking up sleep. That was one of these struggles.”
Even hockey assistant captain Eric Roth agreed about the exhaustion of participating in club sports.
“We practice every Wednesday night at 9:30 and I get back home after dropping everybody off at 1:30 Thursday mornings,” he said.
“So it kind of messes off the rest of the week. We always have players missing practice for exams, homework and stuff.”
The weight of being a club member only grows heavier when adding the lack of resources many of these teams have.
In comparison to varsity programs who have trainers on call, top of the line equipment and chartered transportation, club teams lack heavily in these areas.
Sports clubs are entirely student-run, and in most cases, teams are lucky to have an actual coach that isn’t just a student captain. While the UREC is responsible for overseeing these clubs, student officers are responsible for coordinating their own logistics and games.
The gap between varsity and club programs is very obvious; however, for club athletes, the rewards are what keep the team alive.
For many participants, wins and losses matter less than the people beside them, because sharing the same ardor with your teammates can really create a family away from home.
Although Durham looks to play, there will likely be limitations in his speed and ability to make quick cuts with this nagging injury. Luckily, the Tigers have younger running backs who can fill in.
Durham’s workload was picked up mostly by sophomore Ju’Juan Johnson and Harlem Berry, with Johnson being the standout after rushing for 43 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
He exceeded expectations and picked up yards at will against Southeastern. Johnson showed off his elusiveness on many plays, including a 10-yard rushing touchdown, where he evaded multiple defenders around a clustered goal line.
Johnson’s brilliance was also refreshing to see for LSU fans, as the Tigers have struggled to get the ground game going the past few weeks. Durham looked solid but had his struggles through the first three weeks, including a poor performance versus LA Tech and a lackluster Florida game saved by a 51-yard breakaway run.
Johnson is also an extremely unique player. In high school, he played quarterback and became the all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns at the highly regarded Lafayette Christian Academy. Johnson was then recruited to LSU to play as a cornerback, before quickly transitioning to the running back depth chart because of injuries.
Now, after such a strong performance against Southeastern, it looks like Johnson’s abnormal journey could finally lead to a key role in the offense.
Adding in new players and aspects to the run game should also ultimately help LSU.
At first, opposing teams primarily focused on Durham, as he
PAYTON PRICHARD / The Reveille
LSU will play these three teams annually. Alabama isn’t one
BY ROSS ABBOUD Staff Writer
The SEC released the new ninegame conference schedule for 2026 on Tuesday, with ESPN announcing the three annual opponents for each program.
LSU football’s three annual opponents will be Arkansas, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
The SEC officials designed the schedule by honoring both traditional rivalries and attempting to balance the schedules as best as possible, according to ESPN.
All 16 SEC teams have three protected annual opponents on their schedule, with those opponents being reviewed every four years.
But for the first time in 33 sea-
their brand.
Jacobs’ job is to help athletes determine what their brand is and which businesses they want to align with or partner with. For many, it takes intentional effort to produce consistent content that aligns with their brand image.
“[An athlete] might sit in my office and tell me, ‘My faith is really important to me, my friends are really important, my family is really important to me,’” Jacobs said. “But on your social media, maybe you’re posting things that don’t
CLUB SPORTS, from page 9
“In terms of being an out-ofstate student, I think playing hockey down here has definitely given me a friend group and people to relate to,” said Trevor Doyle, a hockey team assistant captain.
Beyond friendships, club sports give opportunities to develop career-shaping skills. Captains and officers handle operations, fundraising and schedule creation that can mirror experiences they might have after graduation.
It may not be lavish, but for club players, passion is the true value of club sports. Knowing that there is an option to continue to play while wearing the Tiger logo is reason enough for most members to commit time to the team.
Sympathizing with this was Rowan Dunbar, another member of LSU hockey who discussed what his favorite part of playing on the club is.
“Probably competing I miss that coming from high school sports, just knowing there’s a game that night or tomorrow gets me excited,” said the assistant captain.
Club athletics at LSU may be underwhelming in comparison to headlining varsity sports, but club members walk away with something just as great as the roar of a stadium — a family of teammates and the chance to represent LSU doing what they love.
These players carry the same pride as any Tiger. The community and commitment involved in each team proves the value of club sports on campus.
sons, Alabama and LSU are not designated as protected rivals or annual opponents by the SEC.
LSU and Alabama’s matchup is the fourth most common rankedvs.-ranked rivalry in college football history.
Out of 89 total LSU-Alabama matchups, 31 of them have featured LSU and Alabama being ranked; seven of those matchups featured both programs being ranked in the top-10; and one of the matchups was in the BCS National Championship game.
This change means that Alabama won’t appear on LSU’s schedule for the first time in 62 seasons in 2027.
The change will allow each school to play every SEC program after two seasons with a chance to
show that.”
Another reason NIL can be so upsetting for fans is that teams with more television coverage are more highly sought after.
While there are still deals available for athletes in smaller sports, if a team is more likely to win a national championship and bring it back home to local businesses, the athletes on that team are more likely to secure sponsorships.
“When we talk to the athletes about their brand, the biggest thing that we remind them of is that now they’re on this larger platform in competing for LSU,”
VOLLEYBALL, from page 9
season alone and 222.5 points.
Nia Washington has also been a crucial player all around for this team. The senior outside hitter totals 131 kills and 96 digs.
Jessica Jones leads the Tigers’ defense with 50 blocks on the season, while Robinson leads in
DURHAM, from page 9
served in a bell cow role. Now with Johnson creating receiving and breakaway run threats, defenses will be forced to open up more, allowing Durham and the whole offense opportunities to make big plays.
Ole Miss is currently dead last in SEC run defense, making it vital for LSU to get the run game going
PRACTICE
, from page 8
this year, the Tigers might not have to worry about that.
“We’re pretty big,” Mulkey said.
“If you look at Kate and you look at My-My (Joyner), those girls are big. We’ve got a mixture of big, we’ve got a mixture of size, we’ve got a mixture of athleticism. It’ll be fun to watch them develop.”
During practice, we saw entry passes to the bigs, such as Koval, Joyner and Knox, who were able to take it off the dribble and finish at the rim or find the open cutter down low. The Tigers are going to get plenty of looks in the post, and with the bigs that they possess,
play in every SEC venue after four seasons, meaning LSU will still play Alabama and Florida, another former annual rival, every other year.
Additionally, each SEC program is required going forward to schedule one school from a Power Four conference or Notre Dame outside in non-conference play.
LSU has not backed down from this in the past. In eight of the last 10 seasons, LSU has faced a nonconference Power Four opponent, with the 2020 season being an SEConly schedule due to Covid-19.
“The SEC is about playing bigtime football,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “Adding that ninth game just raises the stakes and makes every season a gauntlet, which is what this league is all about.”
Jacobs said. “So they have more eyes naturally on them, especially if they’re in a sport that has a major television broadcast.”
The larger the platform, the better the athlete, and the more marketable they are, the better.
“If somebody’s watching a broadcast and they hear something or see something about a player, they’re going to look them up on social media to see what kind of person they are on and off the field,” Jacobs said. “They may or may not decide to follow them because they’re fans.”
Another large misconception is
digs with 119. The libero jersey has been rotating between different players this season, but freshman Laurel Cassidy has stepped up to be the leading libero with 54 total digs and 2.16 a set.
With the Tigers facing Oklahoma on the road to start conference play, there’s no doubt that
early. Even if Durham is not on the field, LSU needs to target these weaknesses and gain control of the game.
There’s no better way to do this than by getting Johnson good touches and using Durham whenever he’s needed to enact the whole offense to counter Ole Miss fast-paced offense.
“I don’t think we’ll go into the game short-handed by any re -
there won’t be a lot of misses.
As important as it was for Mulkey to rebuild the frontcourt, a lot of production relies on the guards. Flau’Jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams, Kailyn Gilbert and Jada Richard are the only returning players who saw the court consistently for Mulkey.
Everyone is aware of how talented these guards are, but there’s always room for improvement. For Williams, Mulkey expressed that she has started to take on a bigger role now that she’s heading into her third season with the Tigers.
“I think Mikaylah embraced a leadership role,” Mulkey said.
“When you’re young, you don’t
LSU football junior quarterback Garrett
ceive a snapped ball on Nov. 9, 2024, during LSU’s
at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
that athletes have always been directly paid by schools, which was not true until June 6, 2025. On that day, a vote allowed universities to pay their athletes directly.
Before then, it was entirely up to school sponsors and other outside brands to create deals with collegiate athletes.
There’s more to it than being paid to play. It involves countless hours of learning how to edit and produce brand-approved content, while balancing a full course load and an athletic schedule.
Jacobs said athletes learn how to be “on” all the time, so there’s
loss
never a moment that could lose a brand deal.
It’s all of these things that make NIL more than just buying athletes for top schools. Every day, businesses must prioritize their employees’ wellness, even if that means letting go of an athlete.
“You’ve got to think of it kind of like a third-party marketing agency, in the sense of we’re talking to businesses,” Jacobs said. “We’re helping them understand the value of NIL and the value of these student athlete partnerships, but they’re still seeking that return on investment.”
this matchup will be anything less than a thriller. LSU is 5-2 on the road, but that isn’t necessarily a threat to OU, a team that’s 4-0 at home this season. Whatever the outcome, one thing’s for certain: LSU has a tough schedule ahead and is ready to compete against more aggressive volleyball teams.
spect,” Kelly said.
Kelly’s belief in the run game he’s enforced all season is real. Even with his star running back banged up, Kelly has not worried about the run game being a key component against a top-caliber team.
He expressed belief in the running backs last week, giving good volume to Berry and Kaleb Jackson against Southeastern, and even
know, really, do I speak up? Do I not speak up? Do I let the older ones run the show, and then I just chime in? Now, I think she’s very comfortable that she’s earned the right as a junior now to go lead us.”
It’s going to be Williams and Johnson’s job to give a veteran presence and leadership to a team of new players. One of those new players is MiLaysia Fulwiley.
Fulwiley transferred from South Carolina after spending two years with the Gamecocks. When she entered the portal, the women’s college basketball world stopped in awe.
LSU fans should be pretty fa-
With an overpowering attack and a defense that’s starting to find its groove, the Tigers continue to showcase their ability to fight until the very last whistle. Under Johnson’s assertive leadership, this LSU team clearly has the drive to win significant matches.
stated Jackson “probably had his best game” in the postgame press conference. It seems likely those two young stars will get some touches again in Oxford.
Overall, Durham will probably still see the field Saturday and have his own impact, but with the use of Johnson and company’s skill set, the offense should still succeed against this weak Ole Miss run defense.
miliar with the flashy guard from Columbia, South Carolina. She’s given problems to the Tigers before, including in the SEC Championship in 2024, where she scored 24 points and two steals while shooting 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from the three-point line.
“She’s beaten me too many times for me not to have taken her into this program,” Mulkey said. “I’m going to challenge her to learn the point guard position, but I’m not going to take away her ability to play the off guard either. So a lot of that will depend on how quickly she catches on to what we need her to do as a point guard.”
ERIN BARKER / The Reveille
Nussmeier (13) prepares to re-
42-13
to Alabama
OPINION
Dating only white women will not erase your insecurities
TANTAWI’S TALKS
MOHAMMAD
TANTAWI Columnist
So now that you’ve read the headline, what comes to mind?
Though I pitched the idea last week, these thoughts have been cooking for 24 years.
Researchers have long sought to figure out how we pick our romantic partners. It’s a complicated subject to spell out in a few words due to all the variables surrounding it.
There is a study suggesting that heterosexual males choose partners who resemble their mothers. It should be noted that this study did not find the same result for females and their fathers. However, another study found that adopted women’s spouses resembled their adoptive fathers, supporting other findings that the better the relationship a woman had with her male caregiver, the greater chance that her partner resembled that caregiver.
After hours of combing through such research, it was revealed to me how our sexual imprint can be affected by several factors: how we were treated as kids, the age dynamic of our caregivers, physical traits of our opposite-sex caregivers, etc.
At best, the research is inconclusive, and to be fully transparent, it would be accurate to say that the subject isn’t studied as often as you would think. My assumption is that this is due to the research being overly taboo, and dare I say, Freudian.
As an Arab whose partner is white, there is research suggesting that my childhood is the reason I sought a partner who didn’t resemble my mother. In defense of that research, my childhood did have its fair share of turmoil, including the abandonment of my own mother. Also, my childhood featured a Black man with a white wife who served as the greatest father figure I ever had (Mere Exposure Effect) — so the research might be on to something.
When I think about why I’m attracted to white women, I often wonder if it is a learned behavior. White beauty sits atop the hierarchy in Western society, so could it be that I drank the Kool-Aid?
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jason Willis Editor in Chief
Olivia Tomlinson
Managing Editor
Sports Editor
Garrett McEntee Opinion Editor
Oftentimes, I question myself. What a stark epiphany it is to reach dating age and realize the women you are most attracted to do not resemble your mother or even your own phenotype. What happens when you realize every woman you go for does not share the same culture, religion, skin color or socioeconomic status? To say I feel hypocritical at times would be an understatement.
Sometimes, I feel like a traitor — someone who deviated from the norm, disrespecting every generation prior that made you a reality. This is not to echo the likes of Dr. Umar Johnson, but I understand the thought of being against interracial relationships. It’s like Pandora’s Box — you have to be brave enough to open it and live with the changes that follow.
When I think about it from a homogeneous point of view, the lineage that led to my birth would look a lot different from the lineage I would create with a white woman. Is this a good thing? My heart says yes; my brain says it’s complicated.
With the merging of two different ethnicities, religions and heritages, there are things that are bound to be lost. While new culture will be found and new customs established, old traditions will be forgotten; this is part and parcel of an everchanging globalized society.
This is the reality I’m facing in my relationship.
That said, there still exists an elephant in the room that the world chooses to ignore, yet we must address it. Does it make you uncomfortable to consider that there is a social currency that dating a white woman provides? Bigger than that, does it bother you that there is leverage in integrating with a white crowd?
The social capital intertwined with whiteness and proximity to whiteness has led me to believe partner choice must go beyond the psycho-Freudian landscape, and instead be connected to social status and prestige. For example, if you’re the type to say, “I don’t find [insert race] women attractive,” your attraction is shallow yet perfectly represents the blinding effects of white hegemony. You don’t find blank attractive because a segment of society informed you of their undesirability and you
drank the Kool-Aid willingly or unwillingly. If you had learned that dating a [insert race] woman gave you social mobility and garnered praise from others, you would cave.
People look at interracial couples with a certain interest in how this came to be. How did both partners deviate from their social norms?
Historically, the symbolism of a brown-skinned man flirting with a white woman has seen men killed and women shamed. The unfortunate events that befell Black men who were accused of being sexually transgressive toward white women are well-documented.
One such case involved John Griggs in 1934, who was accused of “associating with a white woman.” He was subsequently shot 17 times and dragged from a car for hours. From Griggs to Emmett Till, we know the consequences of what happened throughout history when a darker-skinned man attempted to associate with a fairer-skinned woman.
White people have placed their women on the highest pedestal and made sure to vilify Black men who dared to have romantic intentions. The 1915 highly acclaimed movie, “The Birth of a Nation,” framed Black men as dangers to white women, but why was interracial coupling threatening to the white man?
This ties back into the social currency and prestige that white women provide. The dangers of allowing the ultimate commodity of white hegemony to be handed to the man of color remains threatening to the white power structure.
For brown men, the scenario is reversed. It’s a privilege to be seen as desirable by a white woman, and it allows for advantages unseen by men who date within their own race. Brown men know they are constantly assessed as to whether they are ghetto or hood. To fit into a white crowd is the easy way to appeal to white women, but remaining true to yourself without tokenizing yourself can be a challenge. If you’re having trouble visualizing a token, think of that one Black guy in a white fraternity or a white friend group at the very edge of the group photo.
Every brown guy has at least
fantasized once about finding a snow bunny — a girl so enthused with a man of color, she pays no mind to her stereotypical match of white guys passing by.
The allure of dating a white woman does not start and end with love. There is a social mobility intertwined with now being the partner of a white woman; however, if you find strength from that, then your attraction is held up by fear and lack of self-belief. You’ve allowed proximity to whiteness to grant you ease in your existence. Simultaneously, there is newfound pressure to live up to the political, economic and social expectations when congregating with your new white family.
Not every brown-skinned man will seek out a white woman, but the ones that do might experience similar situations as me, pertaining to how they fit in with the girl’s family, feeling others stare in public and lacking the socioeconomic background to match her experiences.
This draws from my experience. When I met my now-girlfriend, I remember pulling up to an apartment complex that I knew I couldn’t afford. The more I learned about her, the more I realized I was out of her socioeconomic league. From a private school that had a soup du jour to learning she was a two-time debutante, I felt more poor than ever before.
No more should you date a white woman just because dating someone who looks like you would be embarrassing. No more should you degenerate the desirability of [insert race] because of your own predetermined notions. No more should we allow terms like “jungle fever” to be floated around.
We must do better. Love who you want, but never love at the expense of another.
Mohammad Tantawi is a 24-year-old mass communication senior from Smyrna, Tenn.
When you’re growing up, you notice the rich white kids who are riding in their parents’ nice SUVs with a neatly packed lunch, taking regular vacations. Many men of color grow up realizing their families come from nothing compared to other families. This translates into how us brown men seek out proximity to better familial, socioeconomic environments — families where family trauma is minimal, access to better education is evident and vacations are common. It is not to be looked down upon, only admired. We want better, but it starts with ourselves. No matter who you date or marry, it is important to remember that symbolically your relationship carries meaning on a cultural scale. People will look at you and wonder. People will mentally mock and shame. People will mask judgment with seemingly innocent questions. Despite this, it is up to you to give your interracial relationship new meaning.
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“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
Dolly Parton Singer/Songwriter 1946 — present
Chloe Richmond
Courtney Bell News Editor
JACOB CHASTANT / The Reveille
Fantasy football is corrupting authentic sports fan culture
GORDON’S GAB
GORDON CRAWFORD
Columnist
I joined my first fantasy league this season, after a great deal of pleading from my friends. I’d always been a fantasy football skeptic. As a sucker for a good narrative, I always considered the boiling down of the game to simple numbers a travesty.
However, I was convinced by the idea of having a way to have a stake in more games than my usual few. Beyond my beloved Saints and my most-disdained Falcons, with a dollop of solid distaste for the rest of the NFC South, I don’t have any strong opinions about other teams one way or the other. I believed that participating could deepen my overall love for football, and incentivize me to watch more.
I won’t say it entirely failed in that mission. However, I have also found that without conscious self-regulation, it has the potential to drastically change the relationship one has with the game for the worse.
I was fortunate enough to nab a couple of tickets for my father and me for the Saints’ season opener against the Cardinals in August. It’d always been a bucket list item for me to see the glorious black and gold take the field in one of our state’s most iconic landmarks and, hopefully, put some belt to you-know-where.
The game was, to put it bluntly, not good football. To be honest, that was entirely expected. If you’re finding NFL tickets for under $100, your team is strug-
gling, but may have a chance. Under $50? You measure your expectations. Quarterback Spencer Rattler missed about half of his throws and recorded no touchdowns. Running back Alvin Kamara averaged just four yards per possession. If you had any Saints besides Juwan Johnson, it was a rough night.
It was still a phenomenal experience, don’t get me wrong. Just being in the Caesars Superdome was magical. However, I found myself frequently checking at my phone, getting lost in the constant notifications from my fantasy league. Even in those hallowed grounds, I could not focus on the actual game happening before my eyes. This should’ve been my first red flag. Fast forward a week. My roommate and I are watching their most cherished team, the Philadelphia Eagles, take on the Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch. Just a few months ago, I saw this dude decked out from head to toe in green, shouting “Go Birds!” to Chiefs fans in the streets of New Orleans, and calling Patrick Mahomes every expletive under the sun. Yet now, I notice them start cheering for Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco, begging him to go a bit further and to get a few extra points, even as the game remained on the line.
I was immediately overtaken with horror. Only then did I witness the accursed potential of these spreadsheets.
I quickly realized that it was growing to affect my own view of the game as well. Whereas I had intently watched every Saints game last year, I had barely paid any attention to their game that day. I had spent more
time watching and even rooting for, our divisional rival, the Buccaneers, all because I had Emeka Egbuka on my team. I had spent most of the day watching a bunch of numbers going up and down instead of the actual athleticism on display.
Fantasy is really fun, I won’t lie. That feeling, Sunday night, you have one or two players playing on Monday and you’re down 20 to 30 points? Exhilarating.
However, you must remind yourself that there is so much more to football than the performance of a handful of disparate players. That Saints game was essentially a statistical black hole. However, if you weren’t actually watching the game, you would’ve missed a truly beautiful football moment.
In the last couple of minutes in the game, the Saints were down seven points and having a single opportunity to score, Spencer Rattler led the team on a lightning drive down the field. He hit dart after dart, and the crowd was going wild in the Superdome. For a moment, the team that many had deemed the lowest of the low was about to steal a win right out from under the Cardinals.
The entire stadium was watching together with bated breath, Saints fans from all over collected there. Granted, we lost. But the sensation of that moment was immense, and had you simply been staring at a couple of numbers go up, you would’ve missed the little things that made it so intense. You’d miss the intense force as the linemen desperately tried, and in the Saints’ case often failed, to keep
the pocket open. You’d miss Rattler’s scrambles, a genuinely impressive athletic feat that fantasy doesn’t really reward. The struggle of this offense, and the brief hope for success, is what made the moment so compelling.
Most critically, though, is that you’d miss the immense defensive struggle. This is the biggest area where fantasy fails. Some of the most entertaining and breathtaking plays in the NFL are non-offensive. If you’ve ever seen a big man touchdown, you know what I mean. NFL legends, the elite of the elite, Ray Lewis, Richard Sherman and J.J. Watt are all invisible if you focus on fantasy.
I don’t think that fantasy sports are entirely bad. I think
Therapy helped me reclaim my final year from
BODACIOUS BLAIR
BLAIR BERNARD
Columnist
I told myself I’d be more intentional and avoid uncertainty this semester. I didn’t want to take any difficult elective classes or spend time with people I didn’t want. This semester would be about everything I knew I could accomplish.
Unfortunately, transitioning from a summer of free time and some much-needed rest and relaxation was a harder transition than I realized. I was really out of my groove; I took a break mentally and it was much more difficult to get reacclimated into academia. I was feeling all types of stressors and overwhelming things that really made it harder to enjoy class. I was neglecting to go to bed on time, I wasn’t eating at the right times of the day and these things contributed to brain fog and fatigue. Overall, I wasn’t engaging in class material that would allow me to be even more successful this semester.
I realized I was kind of going against the goals I had set for myself. I was contributing to my own self-sabotage by not being more intentional with my own time and acknowledging what was happening around me. Ultimately, I was motivated to make my appointment and go and meet with a mental health professional.
Therapy is a loaded subject, trust me, I know. Personally, I was reluctant to start because I had fears of bringing up old traumas or situations I hadn’t necessarily gotten over, just pushed down. But I knew in my final year of college, I wanted to get everything out of campus that I could.
I’ve been going to therapy every other week now. I can positively say that it’s made me feel more productive and accomplished. I’ve felt more engaged and insistent on participating in class because my therapist and I have come up with ways to keep me on a disciplined routine.
Therapy, I have learned, is more than just showing up and zoning out like one might for their everyday classes. It’s about
they provide an easy way to keep track of a handful of players you’re particularly interested in, and that original intent of getting invested in games you’d otherwise not watch. If it weren’t for fantasy, I would’ve missed a good bit of the current underdog rise of the Indiana Jones Colts. However, you must stay grounded in reality. Don’t allow these fictional teams we make take away from the real people, the ones who don’t rack up stats but who still contribute so much to the game. Don’t let it take away from the real community that is fandom.
Gordon Crawford is a 19-yearold political science major from Gonzales, La.
senioritis
building structure within your own life, practicing and embedding healthy mind habits. Therapy has reminded me to be intentional with my time. Through strategies like building a planner or even just setting some time aside to visit the library, my therapist and I have built this success plan for me.
Sometimes it’s not enough to just feel obligated to go to class.
We all go because we have to, but what can we do to ensure we all want to? It’s not uncommon to have five classes a week and only make it to two. But suppressing your emotions and dealing with unresolved issues alone only contributes to the worsening of senioritis. I’m speaking from experience.
In your final year of college, you should
and
periencing some smooth sailing. Don’t be a prisoner in your own mind and allow mental health issues, especially senioritis, to come at the expense of your schooling. Therapy is a necessary way to battle senioritis. We’ve all worked so hard, don’t fail yourself now.
be rejoicing
ex-
Blair Bernard is a 21-year-old theatre major from Lafayette, La.
BUTCH DILL / AP Photo
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) tries to run past Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Calais Campbell during the second half of an NFL football game Sept. 7, in New Orleans.
KALEB SEARLE / The Reveille