So, LSU and Tennessee. Big rivals, right? Everyone always talks about those matchups, the history, the passion. I get it, I really do. Or at least, I used to think I did.
I remember this one time, years ago, there was this huge game coming up. LSU vs Tennessee, the whole nine yards. My buddy, Dave, was absolutely obsessed. He’d been a Tennessee fan since he was a kid, and LSU, well, they were the enemy. He managed to snag a couple of tickets, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. He called me up, all excited, “You gotta come, man! It’s gonna be epic!”
Now, I’m not the biggest college football nut, but Dave was a good friend, and his enthusiasm was kinda infectious. So, I said yeah, sure, why not. We booked a cheap motel, planned to drive down. I even bought an orange shirt, just to blend in, you know? Didn’t want to cause any trouble.
The Grand Plan Unravels
We were all set. Took a couple of days off work. Packed our bags. The night before we were supposed to leave, I’m double-checking everything, and Dave calls me. His voice was weird. He’s like, “Man, something’s come up.” Turns out, his boss, a massive LSU alum, suddenly decided the entire department needed to come in for an “emergency, super-critical, all-hands-on-deck” meeting on Saturday. Game day. Of all days.
Dave was gutted. He tried to argue, tried to explain, but his boss wouldn’t budge. Said it was non-negotiable. Some crap about a new client or a project crisis, who even knows. It sounded like pure power-tripping to me. An LSU guy deliberately messing with a Tennessee fan’s big game? Seemed too coincidental.
So there we were. Tickets wasted. Motel booking, non-refundable, of course. My orange shirt felt pretty stupid sitting in my bag. Dave was furious, and honestly, I was pretty annoyed too. Not just for him, but the whole situation. It just felt so…petty. Like, really? Over a football game rivalry?
- We lost money on the motel.
- Dave had to deal with his jerk boss.
- And I had two days off with nothing to do.
I ended up just staying home, watching some random movie. Didn’t even bother to check the score of the LSU-Tennessee game. The whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth. Every time I hear about LSU and Tennessee now, I don’t think about legendary players or amazing plays. I think about Dave’s jerk boss and that stupid, pointless “emergency” meeting.
It kind of made me realize how much of this stuff is just…noise. People get so wrapped up in these team loyalties that they forget to be decent human beings. Or maybe it’s just an excuse for some folks to be difficult. I don’t know. All I know is, I never bothered trying to go to one of those big rivalry games again. Not worth the hassle, if you ask me. And Dave? He started looking for a new job pretty soon after that. Can’t say I blamed him.