Mike the Tiger

Tuesday, 15. September 2009 by Dan Ryan

After this weekend, I have become a firm believer in “interstate lag.”

I just touched down from a 34-hour whirlwind of a trip down to the bayou swamplands of Louisiana and back. We drove all through the night both there and back, so my body clock was thrown for quite the loop this weekend. The desination: Baton Rouge and an LSU football game, home to one of the best atmospheres in all of college football. Saturday nights in Death Valley—Tiger Stadium’s more popular nickname—are quite the experience.

My co-pilot Casey and I pulled into LSU’s campus around 10:00 am Saturday morning. At that point, we were running on a full tank of adrenaline and determined to soak up a full day of the LSU experience. On football gamedays, the entire campus and surrounding area are overrun by roughly 150,000 tailgaters (mind you, the stadium itself only holds 93,000). Many of these purple and gold-clad Cajuns are stirring these huge black vats of jambalaya and gumbo with what could best be described as an oar.

There are a handful of famous traditions and sights associated with LSU football, and Casey and I experienced all of them with the exception of the ultimate one: Mike the Tiger. Mike is an actual Bengal tiger who doubles as LSU’s mascot. During the week, he lives in an enclosed habitat in the shadows of Death Valley, literally right across the street from the stadium.

A couple hours before LSU home games, Mike is traditionally loaded into a mobile cage and placed right in front of the visiting team’s tunnel. Talk about menacing. He is then rolled out onto the field right before gametime and remains on the sideline to watch another Tiger victory (they’ve won an unreal 34 straight home night games!).

As we approached Mike’s home, I was surprised by how big it was. Mike’s habitat is an expansive jungle-type environ with plenty of room for Mike to roam. There’s even a 3-4 foot pond that butts right up against a glass wall separating us from him. That’s right, Mike has his own swimming pool. Go for a morning dip, take a nap, then watch the LSU game from the field that night–not a bad life, if you ask me.

To our disappointment, however, we couldn’t spot Mike from behind two layers of chain-link fence or the glass walls. Maybe he was in his cave sleeping. Regardless, I figured we’d just catch up with Mike later at the game.

That afternoon, I was talking with a fellow tailgater when he mentioned that the latest Bengal tiger, Mike VI, has proven to be quite elusive. Whether he’s disturbed by all the commotion or was put off by LSU’s subpar season last fall, apparently Mike VI only made the trip across the street for 2 games last year. Sure enough, there would not be a Mike sighting on Saturday night. Upon my return to Illinois, people asked me, “Did you see the tiger?” Nope.

Now that I think about it, though, it’s rather symbolic that I never saw him.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” —1st Peter 5:8

Haven’t seen him, either. And I can’t help but wonder, “Where is he camped right now?” Just like Mike the Tiger, you are not able to see him, but you know he is there. Or do you?

Is it your mouth that gets you in trouble? Your eyes? Your mind? Don’t kid yourself—he knows. He’s there. And he lurks…whether we take him seriously or not.

Jesus’ own brother James left all of us with a timeless warning concerning Satan:

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” –James 4:7

This week, may each of us take the time to imagine what resistance would personally look like. That’s why I mentioned earlier that it depends on how serious you take this threat, the unseen presence of the devil. If he’s just a cartoon to you, I doubt you’ll contemplate how you could be more self-controlled and alert. 

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” —1st Peter 2:11

“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” –1st Thessalonians 5:6

Because the alternative is equally clear: throw him some meat, and he’ll stick around.