It may seem like a bit of a cliché at this point, but the SEC chose the slogan “It Just Means More” as the rallying cry for the conference for a very good reason.
The pageantry and passion that college football fans in the Deep South exude on Fall Saturdays is second to none, and any player or coach who has experienced it understands this fact very well.
Playing on the road in some of the SEC’s most iconic venues can be nearly impossible, and Urban Meyer got to experience that firsthand as the head coach of the Florida Gators from 2005-2010.
One opposing crowd in particular that has stuck with Meyer after all these years is LSU’s Death Valley. The legendary ball coach made the trip to Death Valley three times during his tenure as the Gators’ head man, managing just a single win across those attempts.
Meyer recently talked about the challenge of playing in Death Valley on an episode of The Triple Option, and he made it clear that he had no intention of ever returning to the Bayou Bengals’ home stadium anytime soon.
“I’ve coached in that stadium (Death Valley) many times, and it’s awful,” Meyer said. “I remember saying, ‘That’s one place I’ll never ever go again.'”
To really hammer home just how hostile the crowd inside Death Valley can be, Meyer also recounted a hilarious story about an encounter he had with an elderly woman that involved a very specific hand gesture.
“She went like this,” Meyer said while holding up both middle fingers into the camera. “We had eye contact, and it was very clear: ‘Welcome to Baton Rouge, you prick.'”
Meyer had great success during his time at Florida, winning 65 games, two SEC Championships, and two National Championships. Still, even he couldn’t overcome the hostile environment LSU fans create for opposing teams, but Meyer is far from the only person to post a losing record in Baton Rouge.
Just about every head coach who has come through the SEC has a losing record inside the iconic venue. Death Valley isn’t just some moniker people slapped on the Tiger Stadium for the heck of it; it’s a badge of honor earned over nearly 60 years.
Even the elderly have no problem showing some good old-fashioned southern hospitality to those who dare to enter the Tigers’ den on any given fall Saturday.
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