BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — College football fans can expect to see a live tiger at the LSU vs. Alabama football game in Baton Rouge on Saturday night, according to multiple reports.
The Louisiana Illuminator confirmed in an interview with State Sen. Bill Wheat that a live tiger will be at the game this weekend. The animal will not be Mike VII,
Multiple sources reportedly told LouisianaSports.net that the governor got some pushback from LSU regarding concerns about the animal potentially experiencing trauma. Tiger Stadium has a seating capacity of 102,321, and Saturday night's game in Death Valley is sold out.
Gov. Jeff Landry said in October that he wanted to bring back the old LSU tradition of having a live tiger at football games in Tiger Stadium. He said it would be an “unbelievable opportunity.” The tradition included previous live mascots riding through the stadium in a travel trailer and parking next to the opponent's locker room.
The current Mike the Tiger has never been to a game.
