Golden Weekend is what I call that one weekend a year (usually) when the LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints football teams both play home games the same weekend. LSU’s team colors are purple and gold and the Saints colors are black, gold and white/cream; hence the name, Golden Weekend. And, for the unfamiliar, the cheer for the LSU Tigers is “Geaux Tigers”, Geaux for “Go”, being a play on the French spelling of names and words that end with an “o” sound as “eaux”. Even LSU Coach Orgeron’s name was shortened to an endearing, “Coach Oeaux”. For fans of both the LSU Tigers and the New Orelans Saints, it is truly a golden football weekend.
I’m originally from the great state of Louisiana and have cheered for both teams since long before the Saints won the 2010 Super Bowl. Traveling home for a weekend of football frenzy has been on my sports travel bucket list for years (am I the only one who has a sports travel bucket list?) and this year, I’m geaux-ing!
Golden Weekend 2017 will be a real cat fight at the annual rivalry game between the LSU Tigers and the Auburn Tigers, Saturday, October 14, time TBD in Baton Rouge. There’s nothing like the roar of the home crowd at Death Valley (read that “Deaf Valley”) and it’s sure to be heard all the way down to New Orleans, where it will rally Saints fans for their game on Sunday, October 15, at noon. The Saints battle the Detroit Lions in a regular season game scheduled to be televised on FOX.
Update 09/18/2017
Saints tickets arrived! The gold accent lettering is a rich glossy gold and the fleur-de-lis is a raised shimmery gold decal outlined in glossy gold and black. They are actually really pretty! The decal even looks like it can be removed after the game and used to decorate any number of things like a car window, a notebook, a pencil cup, hard hat, etc.
Saints-Lions football tickets have arrived. Game on!
Update 08/31/2017
On-the Geaux tickets arrived via email. I’m a little bit nervous because they have the name of the original purchaser on them who apparently decided to list them with an online ticket vendor. Guess we need to bring the purchase receipt to prove we paid for them, just in case there’s an issue.
LSU-Auburn tickets arrived. Geaux Tigers!
Update: 08/15/2017
After the tickets were ordered and the hotels were booked, it was time to turn towards other important preparations, like what to wear and what to bring, or rather, what could we bring?
It’s been a few years since my last pro game (I still remember nervously entering that enormous northern arena as one of only four visitors brave enough to sport southwestern red in stark contrast to the sea of bright yellow that filled the stadium, but that’s a tale for another time) so I wasn’t sure exactly what was allowed. I googled “NFL purse regulations” and stumbled onto a humorous but still relevant article by Sarah Spain from a few years back (see Lagniappe, below). As I chuckled my way through the article, I learned that each person entering the stadium is allowed a clear plastic bag 12″ x 6″ x 12″ or alternatively, for the really fashion savvy spectator, a one gallon re-sealable plastic storage bag.
The NFL’s Tote Policy is pretty clear
Then, because this is a pro and college game weekend, I searched for the SEC regs. Thankfully, the SEC seemed to have followed the NFL policy. Great, now I could get onto to the really important part of the whole bag issue: finding one that I would hopefully like that fit the restrictions. There were lots of choices and prices ranged from $9.99 to $79.99 (seriously, for clear plastic bags?). Overwhelmed by the choices (how do you shop for a plastic bag, anyway?) and not wanting to risk getting shooed away from the gate entrance after waiting so long and traveling so far to get there, I decided to play it safe and googled on over to the NFL shop where I found a Saints logo bag for $9.99. I tossed it in my cart, added a pair of logo earrings for $7.99 and, with taxes and shipping, the order totaled $27.03. I figured that the Saints logo would be fine for the LSU game, too, since the fleur-de-lis symbolizes the state’s French heritage.
Saints logo bag from NFLshop.com
I didn’t really know what to expect because there wasn’t a description of the bag and the photo didn’t give away any details other than the obvious – it was a clear plastic, regulation-sized bag with a logo. Did it have a zipper, I wondered, not wanting my items to fly out if I dropped it while throwing my arms up reflexively to cheer. Oh well, I figured that since it came directly from the NFL, I would be at least be able to get into the game with it and that’s all that really mattered.
My NFL & SEC regulation clear plastic tote with the traditional Saints fleur-de-lis logo.
Texans logo bag from NFLshop.com
The bag arrived exactly one week from the order date and yes, it is zippered (sigh of relief). The plastic appears to be fairly thick and the black stitching seems durable enough to secure my items the entire weekend. If it lasts any longer than that, I’m going to have to order a Texans bag, too!
Laissez le bon temps rouler, or “Let the good times roll”, as we from the Bayou State say.
Lagniappe (that’s Louisiana speak for “a little something extra”):
Sarah Spain’s “How to beat NFL bag ban”
NFL Stadium Bag Policy NFL Saints Stadium Bag NFL Texans Stadium Bag
