The passion of fans of Southeastern Conference (SEC) football fans rival that of partisans for any team in any sport. However, there are times when fervor for the old alma mater take a back seat to compassion. Such is the case for the hospitality that Louisiana State Univ. (LSU) fans demonstrated for the Univ. of South Carolina (USC) and its football players and fans. A football game between LSU and USC had been scheduled to be played in Columbia, SC, but extreme flooding forced the game to be moved from USC’s Williams-Brice Stadium to LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
As such, LSU officials and fans are going to great lengths to welcome USC. LSU chartered a plane to fly the players to Louisiana at its expense, the LSU band is learning the USC alma mater and fight song to play for the Gamecocks during the game, and USC will receive all revenue from the contest except expenses LSU’s incurs for staging the game.
Lamar Outdoor Advertising‘s Baton Rouge office contributed to the hospitality by designing two electronic-billboard ads to display to welcome USC fans to town. One reads "Geaux Gamecocks! We stand STRONG with you!", and the other states, "Geaux Gamecocks! Make yourself at HOME!" – see below. The messages started playing on 8 of Lamar’s digital billboards in Baton Rouge this afternoon and will be displayed through Saturday, October 10. The game is set for kickoff at 3:30 p.m., and will air on ESPN.