Lsu Fans Unhappy With Troubled Tigers

BATON ROUGE, La. - Quick! Alert the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Louisiana State football team might soon kill Mike the Tiger, its quarter-ton Bengal mascot. It is already killing a way of life in Louisiana.

These are dark days on University Lakes, the lazy lagoon that meanders through LSU's campus. The school's proud and princely football team, fresh from posting three straight losing seasons for the first time since 1956, is 1-6 and has lost five in a row. A 27-25 loss last weekend to Kentucky has made this the worst quadrennium in the team's 99-year history.

Is there a veterinarian in the house? Thirty-six years ago, with LSU in the midst of a school-record six-game losing streak, Mike I decided he couldn't take it anymore and checked out to the big litter box in the sky.

Mike's obituary, recorded in the LSU media guide, succinctly describes the odd, irrational hold Tiger football has on its delirious disciples: "Fearing the LSU faithful would give up hope upon the death of the mascot, Mike's death was not made public until the Tigers finally ended the losing skein."

LSU football is serious business in the Pelican State.

LSU, seven-time king of the Southeastern Conference and national champ in 1958, hasn't cracked the Top 25 in four years. The fans are angry, Coach Curley Hallman is embattled and Tiger Stadium is empty like never before.

LSU has been inept on the field and in trouble off it. The Tigers are fast usurping Oklahoma's old title as the truly bad boys of college football. To wit:

-- Hallman had to suspend several players last winter when they picked a fight in the athletic dorm with members of the basketball team, including Shaquille O'Neal.

-- During preseason practice, All-SEC safety Anthony Marshall was arrested for allegedly beating his girlfriend, sprinter Brandi Nunez. Marshall pleaded no contest, was suspended for the season and currently plies his trade on the scout team.

-- Senior noseguard Bo Davis was suspended last year for steroid use and was redshirted with a "neck injury." The NCAA said that year didn't count and ordered Davis to sit out again this season, which would have exhausted his eligibility.

Before the season opener against Texas A&M, Davis successfully sued LSU to regain his final year. He is now the team's leading tackler.

-- Two players were indefinitely suspended this month after run-ins with the law, according to the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate.

Backup noseguard John Mawae, brother and teammate of All-SEC offensive tackle Kevin Mawae, was served a misdemeanor summons for simple battery for his role in a Saturday-night fight.

Starting offensive guard Ronnie Simnicht received a similar summons for interfering with police questioning suspects in another fight the same night.

As if Tiger fans weren't already mad enough. They mercilessly booed the team during recent losses to Colorado State and Tennessee, unprecedented behavior at Tiger Stadium.

The stadium is another sore spot. A Depression-era colossus of weatherbeaten concrete, it was once one of the most feared sites in college football. More than 15 million fans have filed through its venerable gates.

Average home attendance is the lowest since the stadium was expanded in 1978. The decline was steady at first, dropping 8,588 from 1988 (LSU's last winning season) to 1991. An additional 10,000 have stayed away this season.

Losing, fighting, chasing fans away . . . the trauma in Tigerland never seems to end.

"Sure, it's tough times right now," said Hallman, who replaced Mike Archer last season after a successful stint at Southern Mississippi. "I knew when I came here this situation wasn't going to be any easy task."

Restoring LSU to prominence has turned out to be tougher than Hallman ever imagined. He does have one thing going for him - the faith and patience of Athletic Director Joe Dean.

"I want us to win, too. I'm frustrated," Dean said. "But this is completely a recycling situation. What I'm looking at is the 1994 season. You've got to have stability and consistency. We need Curley Hallman to be the football coach here for at least 15 years."

So it appears that Hallman will survive the long Louisiana nightmare. But what about Mike the Tiger?