Pockets of gold and purple filled the Carrier Dome on Saturday as thousands of Louisiana State University football fans turned out to see No. 8 LSU (3-0, 2-0 Southeastern) defeat Syracuse (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast), 34-24.

One corner of the Dome was solid gold and purple, and there was a smattering of the colors throughout the rest of the crowd. Chants of “Go Tigers” rang through the stadium after each LSU score. When Tigers players waved their arms asking for more noise, fans responded. The school’s marching band even made the trip to central New York.

“I haven’t missed a game in 33 years,” said Bobby Durr, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana resident who made the drive to be in attendance Saturday. In front of Durr’s motor home was an inflatable tiger. A large stuffed tiger lay in the front windshield.

“I’m actually a little disappointed,” Durr added. “Usually there’s over 100 motor homes.”

The drive from Baton Rouge to Syracuse is about 1,434 miles, a 20-plus hour drive without stopping.

The LSU contingent reportedly purchased all of the school’s 5,000-ticket allotment for the game, in addition to fans who live more locally and purchased tickets on their own.

The result was a full Carrier Dome, and a Skytop tailgate scene unlike other games.

Mobile homes lined the entrance to Skytop on South Campus. Dozens of fans sported No. 7 LSU jerseys for star running back Leonard Fournette. One man stood near his tent wearing purple Crocs and a bright gold polo shirt.

Bryan and Kathy Gallant, residents of Bossier City, Louisiana, took a flight from Atlanta to attend the game. The pair said they try to attend at least one road game per year.

“We planned this trip about a year ago,” said Kathy, clad in a shimmering gold shirt, fleur-de-lis earrings and tiger ears.

Richard Frazier and his friend Don Lively made the approximately 20-hour drive with their wives, caravanning in their respective mobile homes. Frazier said he’s been attending LSU games for 45 years now. His wife is an alumna of the school.

“Do you know what a Confederate flag looks like?” Lively asked at one point. “Well we’ve got an LSU Confederate flag.”

Moments later, he posed with a gold flag with purple bars, joined by his wife who wore a shirt emblazoned with a large tiger head.

Many of the LSU fans at Skytop commented that Syracuse and its fans had been very welcoming.

Several LSU fans said Syracuse is close to the farthest they’ve traveled for a road game, second only to Seattle. A few others said they’d already booked hotel rooms in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the Tigers will play the Wisconsin Badgers in 2016.

Around 9:30 in the morning, Keith Donaldson, who lives in Cut Off, Louisiana, tried to recall the last time he’d missed an LSU football game. He couldn’t come up with a date.

“It’s kind of my thing,” he said.

Published on September 26, 2015 at 6:53 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27