A home game in Tiger Stadium is a tapestry of sensory experiences that tethers fans to decades of memories. Tiger Band marches down Victory Hill, pausing to play the four notes that trigger the tune known simply as “Pre-game.” In their seats, fans sing along to Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge” as it booms over the loudspeaker in anticipation of kick-off. And at halftime, the 325-member Tiger Band marches in crisp formation while mesmerized fans look on.
This experience wouldn’t be the same without the LSU Tiger Band Colorguard, whose sea of purple and gold flags creates an essential Death Valley backdrop. Like everything associated with Tiger Band on game day, the Colorguard somehow makes its coordinated movements look easy.
“It takes a lot of practice,” says Colorguard co-captain and LSU senior Aleah Bourgeois. “It takes years of working on technique. You can’t just start spinning a flag and doing all these big tosses. I tell all the girls, ‘It’s physics.’”
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Indeed, catching and releasing a 6-foot pole weighted by a 32-by-46-inch silk flag is something to get used to, especially when doing it in formation while in full makeup and a purple and gold lycra pantsuit.
The 32-member Colorguard has been part of Tiger Band since 1971. But if fans assume its changing halftime shows are choreographed by a team of coaches, they’d be wrong. That responsibility falls to the team’s two student co-captains. Bourgeois and sophomore Alex Kling fill the roles this season.
Co-captains receive the music for the halftime show from Tiger Band a few days before each home game, says LSU Colorguard Instructor Johnette Folse.
“They’ll get the music the weekend prior to a game and stay up here on a Sunday to create the six-minute show,” Folse says. “In a show, you’ll notice the guard spins the whole time. They’re just continuously going in the background, and don’t stop.”
It takes a lot of strength, says Folse, who is starting her seventh season as Colorguard instructor and is the group’s sole administrator. Members must catch their flags firmly in the correct spots every time because a missed hand position might result in a drop, Folse says.
Once the captains create a halftime routine, they spend the rest of the week teaching it to the others and rehearsing during daily, and sometimes twice daily, practices. On game day, they arrive early for one last practice before finishing their hair and makeup, and donning their uniforms.
Three years ago, a new look was introduced for the Colorguard, with lightweight lycra replacing the dark purple crushed velvet pieces the guard wore for many years.
Closer to kickoff, the musicians, Golden Girls and Colorguard march to the Greek Theatre, their traditional game-day staging ground before marching to Victory Hill.
Competition is tough for open Colorguard spots, Folse says. New members vie for them in the spring. High school seniors from around Louisiana and the nation, many from well-established programs, try out.
Like the other components of Tiger Band, Colorguard is demanding, especially when trying to also juggle schoolwork, Bourgeois says. The Thibodaux native is a pre-med biology major herself, graduating in December.
“There have been times over the years when I thought about quitting,” she says. “But then I stopped viewing it as an activity and more as a legacy. I think about our alums, and how a spot on the field was marched (by someone else) before we were here. It’s a tradition I can’t imagine not doing.”
KEY TERMS
Give me a grinder
The terms used for the spins and tosses performed by color guards vary significantly, says LSU Colorguard Instructor Johnette Folse. “It just depends on the school and the part of the country,” she says. “There’s constant debate, sometimes even among our members.”
Grinder
A figure-eight movement while holding the flag. Also called a carve, stir, figure-eight or witch’s brew.
Pull hits
A two-handed toss and catch of the flag after it rotates a full 360 degrees. Also called a cracker jack, pole hit or pop toss.
Thumb flips
A one-handed turn of the flag resembling baton twirling. Also called a palm roll.
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Speed spins
Continuous spins of the flag. Also called double spins.
Horizontal toss
The flag is oriented horizontally and tossed from the waist into the air, still in a horizontal position. Also called flat toss, helicopter toss or parallel toss.
This article was originally published in the 2023 Tiger Pride issue of 225 magazine.