The men, or soldiers if you will, have taken this leader’s left flank (the ‘blind side’) and the nation (Tiger Fans) needs to take up arms on the right.British Imperial jingoism from Hollywood directed by Michael Curtiz, a Hungarian. He’s taking all the pressure, and it’s really not his fault.” That loss is on everybody’s shoulders.”Īdded linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, “People are trying to say the end of the game is the big reason we lost, but the game could’ve been won at any time during the game. “There’s more to the game than just the last 30 seconds. “He tried to take the blame for the whole game, but I don’t think that’s fair,” LSU guard Lyle Hitt said. The team, that was something we needed to hear.” It says a lot about the person he is, and not just the coach. There’s nothing else that needs to be said. Any head coach that does that in front of the team and in front of the assistants, that comes up there and says, ‘This was my fault,’ it takes a lot for somebody to swallow their pride and say, ‘I messed something up.’ I earned a lot of respect for our coach for the way he talked to us.” The way he comes out and says that means a lot to you as a player and as a man. “ Coach Miles has done great things here, been a great coach. “It makes you earn so much more respect for a man who comes out and says something like that,” senior tight end Richard Dickson said. Those men that charged with him, all aware of each other’s flaws have come to his side and here is what they have said. In the aftermath, with calls for his head, one thing has been missed and his case must be pled. "If only he’d been more like the former great commander, Lucan our old friend." And like Cardigan, all of the disdain, vitriol and chagrin of the nation (Tiger Nation) has been aimed squarely at him. Like the Earl of Cardigan, the Hat of LSU leads from the front. Yet, as if fate had deemed it necessary the admittedly flawed yet courageous and loyal leader-head coach Les Miles-still had one last ditched attempt to gain victory yet watched it slip from his grasp. Inexplicably, the Tiger’s through a series of misses (calls, communication, game/clock management, etc…) or a tragedy of errors, if you will, retreated from victory’s view. Last Saturday, LSU had been out-played physically statistically and on the scoreboard against Ole Miss, but made a wild and valiant charge in the last two minutes and had victory in their sight. Lord Tennyson would memorialize their charge and pen the battle psalm: Yet, the men of the brigade, those who survived the charge, would rally around their leader: courageous, loyal, flawed and strong. Why oh why would he charge so outmanned-surely his troops deserved better leadership, perhaps a better man. Perhaps it was enmity or distrust, but the Heavy Brigade watched from on high as Cardigan's men were slaughtered.Ī national controversy ensued and Cardigan was questioned surely he was the villain. The valley would become known as "the Valley of Death."Ĭardigan and his 600 charged into the onslaught of Russian artillery expecting to have back up from the Heavy Brigade, led by the Earl of Lucan, who coincidentally was Cardigan’s predecessor as commander of the Light Brigade and his estranged Brother in Law. Unprotected at their flanks, they faced an insurmountable enemy. The Light Brigade, led by it’s (insert d word) strong and patriotic (loyal) Major General, the Earl of Cardigan found themselves charging into the valley based on misdirected order’s from an underling. More importantly, a cursory look at the story of the Light Brigade draws some fascinating comparisons-in a creative and literary sense-to the current plight of LSU’s Tiger Nation. Sean Tuohy’s (Oher's guardian) version-however far from being historically accurate-works for me. I’ve also heard explanations related to Mike the Tiger our ‘man eating’ mascot. Of course there is the Wikipedia version-allegedly posted by a Clemson University grad-which is popular with Clemson fans, who claim that their stadium was the first to be dubbed in honor of the Valley of Death. I must admit, I have followed LSU athletics my entire life and I have always been slightly embarrassed by not having an answer to the question, “Why is Tiger Stadium called Death Valley?”
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