Counting the days until fall’s magic

August means summer is coming to an end, children will soon return to school, and football season will be here faster than you know it!

While the first LSU football game isn’t until Sept. 5 against the Washington Huskies, I’m already counting the days. Who can blame me? Even as I write this in July with my calendar tracking the countdown, the excitement is already building toward Baton Rouge’s most exciting season. We may not have much of a “fall” in terms of turning leaves and mild weather, but LSU football is a pretty good consolation!

Many Baton Rougeans mark fall by the start of LSU football. Their non-football fan families often lose their loved ones all Saturday long.

Hard-core fans wake up at 8 a.m. to take in a few hours of pre-game coverage and analysis, then watch anywhere from three to 12 hours of actual college football, and finally cap things off with a couple hours of post-game coverage. If they demonstrate a little bit of discipline, these die-hard fans will utilize their three- to five-minute commercial breaks to text or e-mail friends and, on some rare occasions, even tend to non-football-related business around the house!

And that’s just for road games! Home games will demand an even deeper commitment that involves cooking, prepping and that social ritual that sets Baton Rouge apart from so many other cities— marathon tailgating. Whole families will spend the entire day on campus savoring great food, good company and the anticipation of kickoff—preferably at 7 p.m. under the lights.

In the seven months since the football team capped off a generally disappointing season with a bowl victory, LSU athletics has given us plenty more to cheer about.

The basketball team made a strong run after several years of underachievement. The men’s and women’s track teams competed yet again among the top programs in the country. And the baseball team brought glory to the brand new Alex Box Stadium by winning the College World Series in Omaha.

While these sports have been fun and exciting to follow, the big show is LSU football. No other game in town boasts that it attracts upwards of 100,000 people in one place, Saturday after Saturday, year after year.

We’re fortunate to have Coach Les Miles, a man whose character and professionalism off the field are matched by the performance of his players and coaches on it. While the team fell short of many fans’ expectations last year, Miles and his staff have been busy in the off-season shoring up weaknesses and addressing problems.

This month’s cover story by veteran sports journalist Lee Feinswog takes a look at what the Tigers will need to do to improve their performance, including steps they’ve already taken. It’ll whet your appetite for the upcoming season, plus give you some insights into whom you’ll likely be cheering about in the coming months.

But our cover story doesn’t stop there. We take you on campus to meet some of the unknown people, unfamiliar faces and unsung heroes whose behind-the-scenes work helps make Saturday nights at Tiger Stadium so special. Check out all our coverage beginning here.

Impressive young leaders

I recently had the honor of speaking to the graduating class of City Year Louisiana volunteers, and I was blown away by the passion, drive and number of service hours these young people delivered to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. City Year is a national organization that unites young people ages 17 to 24 from all backgrounds for a year of full-time community service. It gives them the skills and opportunities to change communities as they work as tutors, mentors and role models in the lives of at-risk children and youths, helping to transform schools and neighborhoods along the way.

Here, they served Glen Oaks Park Elementary, University Terrace Elementary, Progress Elementary and Magnolia Woods Elementary schools. I learned a long time ago that mentors in life can make a big difference. I was especially impressed with these young volunteers’ passion for civic duty, and their unselfish efforts to make a positive difference in our state.

If you’re interested in learning more about City Year, visit cityear.org.

Our very own Woodstock

It may come as a surprise—or even a shock—to some Baton Rouge newcomers that 40 years ago this month, the metro area hosted a rock festival of epic, historic proportions. At an Ascension Parish racetrack that no longer exists today, thousands of young people spilled onto the grass for a weekend rock festival that featured some of this country’s musical legends: Santana, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. Music writer Alex V. Cook marks the 40th anniversary of the New Orleans Pop Festival in Prairieville and the recording icons who rocked the pastoral fields. Check out the story here.

Last chance to win

In case you didn’t know, we are giving away two free round-trip airline tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. flying from the Baton Rouge Metropolitan airport. To enter, you just sign-up for one of our great e-newsletters. You can register here. But hurry, deadline is August 15, 2009.