Q & A with LSU: the Thanksgiving Game

Do you like Thanksgiving? Do you like football? The obvious answer to both is "YES," but some don't necessarily feel that combining the two is ideal. We visited with Billy Gomila from And the Valley Shook to get an idea of the Bayou Bengals' perspective on the updated schedule.

GBH: What is the general mood within the LSU fanbase about playing on Thanksgiving night?

ATVS: If I'm being honest, we kind of hate it. I can appreciate that Thanksgiving Night is a big deal for the Aggies, but that doesn't really mean anything to LSU fans. We'd much rather see this game get a primetime slot on a Saturday night, as God intended LSU football to be played. Plus, I'm pretty sure that the return trip will wind up getting the 1 p.m. Black Friday slot in Baton Rouge. Most fans have always hated playing Arkansas in that slot as well.

GBH: Has LSU ever traditionally played on Thanksgiving before?

ATVS: Traditionally, no, but I do believe there was a Thanksgiving game against Alabama in 1973.

GBH: Do you think having the game on Thanksgiving will impact the number of Tiger fans who travel to Kyle Field this year?

ATVS: Absolutely. There's a healthy alumni base in Houston, so I imagine some of them will make the trip, but I don't think you'll see many travelers out of Louisiana. Speaking for myself, this slot will essentially mean I'm never making the trip, because I'm always going to be with either mine or my wife's families on Thanksgiving.

Which sucks, because I would like to see Kyle Field at least once. Again, really not happy about this whole deal.

GBH: How appealing is it to be the only college game that day (apart from that one on FS1)?

ATVS: That's always been the justification for the Black Friday timeslot against Arkansas, and to be honest I've never cared. It was one thing to have this kind of exclusivity back in the days when most college programs not named Notre Dame weren't always on TV, but for programs the caliber of LSU and A&M, getting on TV is a regular occurrence. Exclusivity isn't worth a crappy time slot anymore than it is having a game moved to 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday. We like our games on Saturday night, period. That's our tradition [insert SEC league office complaint here], so we're never going to be overly enthused about anything deviating from that.

GBH: What's your go-to Thanksgiving tailgate dish?

ATVS: My family is from New Orleans, and a big Thanksgiving staple that isn't as common around the rest of the state is Oyster Dressing, which I wrote up for ATVS a couple of years ago. Its hard to go wrong with oysters, onions, bell peppers and bread crumbs seasoned and sauteed in margarine! What? You wanted to live forever?

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