Anthony Hamilton
It has been dubbed the granddaddy of all black-college football games. It’s for bragging rights in Louisiana. It’s complete with a battle of the bands and all the pageantry that is the Bayou Classic.
For my family, it’s the highlight of the Thanksgiving weekend. The trip to the Crescent City…New Orleans, Louisiana. The roadtrip in anticipation of the game is the beginning of the festivities for us. Music, and family fun.
The Bayou Classic weekend is nothing short of eventful. The Battle of the Bands, held in the Superdome between the Southern University Marching Band, known as the Human Juke Box, and the World renowned Grambling Tiger Marching Band is always an entertaining event. From the precision marching routines, to the music itself, this event for me is always unforgettable.
On Saturday, it’s time for the big game, pitting the Southern Jaguars against the Grambling Tigers. Anticipation is high for this on, after last year’s game, won by Southern 52-45, with Grambling being stopped on Sothern’s one-yard line as time expired.
Grambling is favored coming into the Classic this year. With an 8-0 mark in the SWAC conference coming in, if they win this one, they would run the tables. Southern comes in with a 6-2 mark in conference, however, due to the nature of the rivalry, this is one of those games where you throw out the records, due to the intensity of the rivalry.
So to the tune of approximately 70,000 fans, we have Saturday afternoon football kicking off, in an arena where it was so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. The statement about throwing out the records looked like a very prophetic statement early in the game, as Grambling started slow, and Southern led 20-3 through the second quarter, but then Grambling came to life. After scoring 2 quick touchdowns, Grambling went in the locker room only trailing by a field goal…20-17.
After a spirited halftime show featuring the bands again, Grambling came out and proceeded to take the lead after scoring another touchdown in the third quarter while holding Southern scoreless. In the fourth quarter, Grambling scored another touchdown to lead 31-20. After exchanging late field-goals, Grambling State was victorious 34-23. They will be moving on to the SWAC Championship game in Houston this Saturday. Final exams ensure that I won’t make that one, however, I wish the G-men well in their rematch with Alcorn State.
The trip back was safe, and without incident. My family and I are all looking forward to the game next year which we call the annual Bayou Classic road trip.