This weekend, thousands of Louisiana State fans will swarm New Orleans to watch the Tigers take on Alabama in Monday's BCS Championship game. But before, during and after the contest, these celebrants will gather in the French Quarter to engage in the one activity they're better at than perhaps any other group of football fans: drinking.
Year in and year out, regardless of how well their team is playing, LSU supporters make other college tailgating crews look like Baptist choirs.
All six games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. this season drew more than 90,000 fans. While beer isn't sold inside, the parking lots remain jammed during the action.
It's not uncommon for tailgates to have full bars—with some stations serving as many as 200 guests with bourbon, gin, vodka, scotch, Bloody Marys, mimosas and up to 25 cases of beer.
The same ethic applies to road games: In September, LSU and its fans traveled to West Virginia, which has one of the few college stadiums that serves alcohol.
According to a school spokesman, Mountaineer Field sold over $120,000 in beer alone that night—even though parts of the stadium sold out of cold Bud Light around halftime. Not only was that figure 33% higher than the figure for the next-highest game, it accounted for 23% of the season's total beer sales over seven games.
"The whole line was LSU fans buying four beers at a time," reports Judson Sanders, a 31-year-old Tigers fan who works in electrical contracting.
Beer rankings have always been a source of strength in Louisiana. In a study of beer sales and shipments over the last decade, the Beer Institute, a Washington, D.C. industry group, has ranked the Bayou State as high as No. 5 among all states in per capita beer consumption. That makes it the thirstiest state in the South.
Rather than making a push for temperance, LSU is considering a plan to cash in on the situation. The Tin Roof Brewing Company, a microbrewery near LSU's campus, announced a partnership this summer with the university that may result in what could be a first for a major football program: an officially licensed school beer.
According to the brewery, this light ale, which would be marketed in school-color purple and gold cans, would be called Bandit Blonde after a defensive unit on the school's 1958 national-championship squad. The brewery said the brew was chosen for the honor because of its "crisp, refreshing taste," which beer lovers and LSU tailgaters "can enjoy pretty much year round."
The partnership has the support of LSU chancellor Mike Martin, a school spokesman said, and it will be voted on by the LSU Board of Supervisors in coming months. The university will collect a 10% royalty fee.
That cut from beer sales is "no different" than taking a position in selling t-shirts, said Charles D'Agostino, the executive director of the Louisiana Business & Technology Center, an arm of LSU's business school that helps develop revenue streams for the state.
Several watering holes in New Orleans and Baton Rouge are already incorporating Bandit Blonde into a signature drink called the Honey Badger, which is named in honor of star LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. It consists of a shot of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Whiskey dropped into a glass of the brew.
"I'm not sure who came up with it," said Darin Smith, the general manager of Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar near Tiger Stadium. "Word gets around Baton Rouge pretty quick."
FULL STORY AT: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203471004577141180847382556.html
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