Autumn Spectacle: Mike the Tiger

Mike the Tiger
by AutumnSpectacle.com staff

Costumed mascots have been a staple for baseball and basketball games for decades. But, the tradition of live mascots is unique only to college football. No other sport boasts of such pageantry. And, few live mascots are as intimidating as Mike the Tiger at LSU.

courtesy lsusports.net

The Bengal tiger is as much a part of LSU football as the team wearing white jerseys for home games. The original tiger was purchased with $750 that was raised by the student body. Upon buying that first mascot from the Little Rock Zoo, the tiger was moved to the Baton Rouge Zoo.

The first tiger was named Sheik, but his name was changed to Mike in honor of Mike Chambers, who was the athletic trainer at the time. Chambers’ background was steeped in college football lore. He was a lineman at Illinois where he blocked for Red Grange.

Visiting Mike is a highlight for the LSU faithful, especially on gameday. Before the game, fans trek to Mike’s home, which is located just across the street from the football stadium. His habitat consists of a pool, wooden scratching post, a climbing platform and indoor facility where he can get away from it all.

Then, Mike loads up in a mobile cage and heads to the Tiger Stadium floor. The LSU cheerleaders mount the top of the cage and all are in tow for a lap around the venue so all fans can see their beloved tiger. LSU lore dictates that every growl Mike gives during his pregame ride will equate to a touchdown scored by the Tigers that night. The sight of collegiate cheerleaders pumping up the crowd while standing on top of a cage housing a Bengal tiger is special.

Before he returns to his domicile across the street, Mike has one more stop. The cage is parked just outside the tunnel from where the opposing team takes the field. Imagine: you’re a player for the visiting team and before you attempt to play in one of college football’s toughest stadiums, you first have to run by a very large animal that is more than capable of treating you like a mid-evening snack.

Legend has it that some teams have gone on the offensive when it comes to Mike’s intimidation tactics. Supposedly, Alabama’s Bear Bryant asked a student manager to fetch some meat. As the tale has been told, Bryant laced the meat with tranquilizers and tossed it into Mike’s cage. Then, when the Crimson Tide entered Tiger Stadium, Mike was in a deep slumber.

Mike V took over the honors as Tiger mascot in 1990 at the ripe old age of four months. 2006 was his 17th season as the university’s icon and, God rest him, Mike V died in May 2007. Mike VI is expected to kick off his ferocious reign in September.

ESPN play-by-play man Ron Franklin once said, “There is no place, and I mean no place, like a Saturday night in Baton Rouge.” The LSU football experience is unique and Mike the Tiger plays an important role in creating the atmosphere down on the Bayou.

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“Saturday afternoons in autumn. For more than a century they have stood as the showcase for what has become a true American ritual, a time reserved for one of the most richly colorful, spirited, and vibrantly exciting sports in all the world."
- Richard Whittingham, The Rites of Autumn