Louisiana State University - Gumbo Yearbook (Baton Rouge, LA)

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Curtis E Is Contagious Anyone fairly familiar with ath- letics knows the impact of fan sup- port on the final outcome of a con- test. But when this enthusiasm turns to hostility, the whole game suffers. W. Evans (Blackie) Howell, pres- ident of the CM3 company, a man- agement consulting firm, approached the athletic department to institute a Curtis E courtesy program for the 1977-78 seasons. With the financial support of seven Louisiana firms, the campaign attempted to promote courtesy with the help of all 2,000 game personnel and the 68,000 plus fans who invade Tiger Stadium for each game. In place of more security person- nel or police d ogs for crowd con- trol, Howell thought fans were probably rowdy because they were never asked to behave. He felt bot- tle and ice-throwing, fighting and post-game highway accidents could be curbed through a more courte- ous spirit of competition. So when fans began arriving at Tiger Stadium for the LSU-Rice game, they were greeted by a rooster named Curtis E (Howell himself!). Buttons, banners and bumper stickers exhorting fans to be friendly decorated Death Valley. Courtesy is contagious -- help us spread it and Have a good time - help others have a good time were the slogans that spread the word. The courtesy program, continued through other sports competitions, has proven effective. Jack Gilmore, assistant athletic director for busi- ness said, We ' ve been pleased with the results of the program. Games management personnel said there were fewer problems and more awareness at games. Football 171

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Bengals Begin Road Back To Winning... Hopes were high when the 1977 football season rolled around. Visions of returning to the glory days on the LSU gridiron enter- tained the thoughts of everyone as the opening game approached. Hopefully gone were any remnants of the past three years -- years of disaster for LSU. Tiger supporters impatiently awaited this return a return to the days between 1958 and 1973 when Bengal football teams had won 132, lost 39, and tied 6. In the past three seasons of despair, dissension earmarked sea- sons of 5-5-1, 4-7 (LSU ' s first losing season in 1 9 years), and 6-4- 1 . Five-thousand fans went north to Bloomington, Indiana, for LSU ' s 1. Indiana surrounded Steve Ensminger in much the same way they surrounded the Tigers in a 24- 21 upset. (Ted Hicks) 2. LSU smashed highly- touted Florida 35-14, the Bengals ' most impressive victory of ' 77. (Schultz) 3. The Goodyear blimp passed over Memorial Tower on its way to the Ala- bama game. (Badeaux) 4. At the Kentucky game, Curtis-E trades a Courtesy is Contagious sticker for some peanuts. (Jerry Hazen) opener with the lightly-regarded Indiana Hoosiers. The Bayou Ben- gals were heavy favorites to beat Indiana for the second time. (The first one was a 20-14 win at Indian- apolis in 1924.) LSU marched down the throats of the Hoosiers on its first posses- sion for the 7-0 lead, and all assumptions of victory appeared justified. Then, the Bengals relaxed and allowed themselves to be over- taken 10-7. By the early moments of the final quarter, however, LSU had built a comfortable 21-10 lead, and were headed for more when haunting memories of 1974-75-76 struck in the form of the fumble. The Tigers coughed it up on the Hoosier 12 and within minutes were scored upon. Content in losing their opener, the porous Tiger defense gave way to another score. The result: a shocking 24-21 upset loss, and a bitter way to open what was supposed to be a good season. With Help Mac Pack signs in full bloom everywhere, the 0-1 Tigers were busy preparing them- selves for their first home game against the Rice Owls. Not since 1966 had the Owls bested the Tigers, and every LSU fan again expected victory, but not in the form of a 77-0 score. In the wildest scoring display since 1936, LSU bounced back with vengeance from their opening setback to humiliate the men from Houston. The 746 yards total offense against the Owls was one of the many school records broken. But Tiger fans were still not sold on this team. Florida, ranked ninth nationally, would be the true test. 170 Main Ingredients

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Football . continued Unbelievably, the Florida con- test began in the same way the Rice game had. Before the touted Gators had broken a sweat, the Tigers had sprinted to a 29-0 lead, via four TD ' s and a safety. Sold indeed were the Tiger partisans on this team when the eventual 36-14 SEC shocker was history. LSU ' s first win over Florida since 1973. Then came the try to win a road game. The inability to win a game out of Louisiana had captured the fancy of Tiger teams since the dry spell struck in 1974. In fact, only Rice in Shreveport and Tulane in New Orleans in 1975 saved the Tigers from going victory-less on the road since 1973. The Indiana game that opened the ' 77 season extended the streak. The upcoming foe was Vander- bilt (a team with the ability to get sky-high for good teams, which LSU had developed into, and a knack of losing to losers). Whatever the case, Vandy was ready, LSU wasn ' t and the Tigers found them- selves behind 0-15 midway in the third quarter. It appeared that the sleeping Tigers would keep their oblivious road streak intact. Then, characteristically of this team, the Bengals exploded. In fact, they turned Tiger. A 0-15 deficit became a 28-15 victory at Nashville - and the Tigers ' road streak was shattered. 1. LSU played Vanderbilt in Nashville in 1977 the Tigers ' first appearance at ancient Dudley Field since 1957. (Schultz) 172 Main Ingredients