Last night, for the first time in 24 years, Garth Brooks finally got to “call Baton Rouge,” as he played at LSU’s “Death Valley” last night.
And needless to say, I’m surprised the place didn’t crash and burn.
In fact, it sounds like the place got pretty rowdy in Tiger Stadium with Garth played the song for a much smaller group of folks in the stadium for the sound check.
But then it came time for the real thing.
Packing out the stadium to full capacity with 102,321 rabid fans (and it ain’t a secret that LSU fans are as rowdy as they come), it’s easy to see that Louisiana natives were dying for the opportunity to watch Brooks play at their beloved stadium – and to hear him play their unofficial anthem.
And then it finally got to the point in the night where Brooks played the beloved song “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” which has become an anthem for LSU fans at football games, and used in all kinds of cringey recruiting videos for new head coach Brian Kelly.
Although originally recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys in 1978, and covered by New Grass Revival in 1989, Garth’s 1993 version is the most commonly known, and when he played the song last night, the whole place erupted.
Seriously, I’m surprised they were able to restrain all the fans from running on stage.
In fact, when Garth played the song, it was the loudest point of the night, and an LSU professor set up a seismograph for the show to prove it:
After performing the song, Garth thanked the crowd for letting him play a small part in LSU football:
“Thanks for letting us be a small piece of thread in the family and the fabric of the LSU Tigers.”
