LSU Football: The End of the Golden Age?

The burning question in the back of every single LSU Tiger fans mind is, "was 2008 the begining of the end for the golden age of LSU football?"

LSU is currently enjoying the most success the school has ever had and like any other school or even dynasty, eventually it will come to an end because no one can stay on top forever.

The thing that bothers fans the most wasn't the lack of leadership amongst the players—it was the effort and the attitude those players demonstrated when times got tough.

In the past when LSU was punched in the face they returned the favor by knocking their opponent out. In 2008, LSU joyfully seemed to hop on the floor and lie down for the count.

They boasted after every tackle regardless of whether or not a 20-yard reception was attached to it. The pride and intensity in the defense was gone. Opponents were not afraid of LSU—three times in one season an opponent came to Baton Rouge and left with a victory.

Opposing teams won in a very convincing fashion that made any fan watching think he was back in the Louisiana Superdome on a Sunday during the 90's. Offensive woes aside in two of our losses last season, it was the defense that failed LSU. The very trademark of the golden age of LSU football was abandoned and the result was the worst season in recent memory. 

Many teams at some point who have climbed to the top of the mountain fall for this very reason. They begin to think that wins come from entitlement and mere talent alone. Hard work is no longer needed. The very reason teams like FSU and Miami are no longer relevant in annual National Title discussions. 

The team that won the title last year showed something that could not be found on the LSU team—fight. The Fighting Tigers were known as the meowing kittens across the land.

The most feared home field advantage in all of college football became not only irrelevant but unrecognizable. With my own eyes I saw 90,000-plus emulating the very behavior that I am condemning.

A sense of entitlement and a sense of being absolutely spoiled. Even the LSU fans have become spoiled, the same fans that once caused an earthquake...now leave early, boo their players, and don't quite show up the way the use to. Point the finger at the team all you want but the truth is football wasn't the only thing that lost its identity last year...LSU did altogether.  

When Michael Clayton and Marcus Spears were seniors in highschool they were recruited to virtually every school in America and choose to stay home because they wanted to turn LSU into a national power.

They wanted to make their own history and turn around a program that had been rotting for decades. During their tenure at LSU they won two SEC championships and two Sugar Bowls—one for a national title.

This lead to the rejuvenation of LSU football and a rebirth to the program's national prominence. It had been 45 years since LSU last won a national title in 58'. 

I mention this for us to all take a step back and realize just how far this program has come from being ran by Gerry Dinardo to now. I personally remember those seasons and what they were like and I know what its like to be where we are now and there is no going back for me.

I cherish every moment on ever single Saturday and cheer just as much for my team now as I did when LSU went to Lexington in 2002 and managed to find a way to pull out that win off a miraculous 75-yard pass to a Saint.

Or in 2004 when LSU went to Gainesville and managed to beat UF with a fourth quarter rally for the ages by then a backup quarterback to a freshman phenom. All I am saying is that I was there for the bad and I have been there for the good.

The fact that in 2008 when LSU had to rally past Troy with no one there to see it at Baton Rouge speaks volumes to me of how far this has come and the standard you expect to see.

However there is a standard I have come to expect and that is that no matter what LSU is LSU and that means to me, best home field advantage and the best fans. Just like the football team last year they too were M.I.A.

Which brings me to 2009, fresh off a vintage performance in the Peach Bowl against No. 14 Georgia Tech—LSU seems to be back to its old self.

For the first time since 2007 I watched a team fly around on defense and play with pride and attitude. I watched an offense come to life behind the arm of a freshman quarterback—who every time I see makes me believe he can do something special.

LSU played like a team that was hungry and wanted to win—perhaps the fighting Tigers are back. As we know in odd numbered years, LSU tends to do pretty good—two national titles, three BCS bowl game victories and in the lone other a top five finish after dismantling the once proud Miami Hurricanes.

Now with every sign pointing to the return of the LSU football we have come to know and love my question is: come Saturday in Tiger Stadium, will LSU (not just the football team)?