By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Writer
Growing up in Opelousas, Louisiana, was nothing out of the ordinary for me. I have two loving parents, an older brother and a younger sister. My parents always encouraged us to go out and chase our dreams – and that’s just what I did.
I played sports for as long as I can remember. The competitive nature brought me joy while serving as an escape from everything else. I participated in any sport I could: football, basketball, baseball and even competitive swimming.
What some people don’t know is that I played on a football team with current Buffalo Bills receiver Keon Coleman in “Itty-Bitty” ball at South City Park. I also played against Coleman several times in middle school in his Opelousas Catholic days. At the time, I was a 4-foot-7 shooting guard and he sent just about every shot I took into the bleachers.
Football in the south really does just mean more. My family scheduled our falls around it.
Saturdays in the fall started with “College Gameday” on the TV at 8 a.m. with scrambled eggs and Pillsbury biscuits on the counter. Any errands had to wait until Lee Corso made his headgear pick. The 11 a.m. kickoffs were for yard work, unless LSU was playing. By 2:30 p.m., everything around the house was finished so we could watch the SEC game of the week on CBS. My dad’s rice and gravy paired perfectly with the prime time match-ups to end the night.
My first memories of watching sports came during LSU’s 2010-11 season. My dad took me to my first football game on November 6, 2010, in Tiger Stadium. LSU hosted Nick Saban’s No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide. I will never forget that game. I remember hearing the crowd erupt after wide receiver Reuben Randle caught a Jordan Jefferson pass over the middle of the field, taking it the distance for a touchdown to break a scoring drought for the Tigers. That 75-yard reception from Randle is when I fell in love with college football.
In my short 22 years being in Louisiana, I’ve been to a considerable number of sporting events. I attended some of the craziest games, but none of them compared to the fifth night of November in 2022. LSU sold out Tiger Stadium as it hosted Alabama in a high-stakes matchup during Brian Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge. Jayden Daniels’ successful two-point conversion throw to tight end Mason Taylor will go down as one of the most memorable moments that I witnessed in person.
I attended college at LSU, where I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication last May with a focus in Broadcast Journalism. I never envisioned a world where I left sports, so journalism became my way to stay close to the games.
During my freshman year at LSU, I applied to be a sports reporter at KLSU Radio, which is the student-run radio station on campus. I ended up getting hired and later became Sports Director in 2023. The rest was history. KLSU will forever have a place in my heart. It was a place where I grew as both a reporter and a person.
I’ve been blessed to have covered so many unforgettable sports moments in the past four years at LSU. I covered the first LSU women’s basketball national championship win in Dallas, Texas, in 2023. My favorite event that I have been able to cover is the 2023 Heisman Trophy Ceremony. From seeing real snow fall getting off the plane to witnessing quarterback Jayden Daniels become the third Heisman winner in LSU history, the New York City trip did not disappoint.
Covering athletes and teams will never get old for me because no story is ever the same. I am thrilled to join the Tiger Rag team, alongside executive editor Todd Horne and editor Glenn Guilbeau.
I look forward to bringing you all the stories each day!
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