Thousands of Fans at LSU Could Face Charges on Saturday

Has there been an announcement of an increased presence of law enforcement in Baton Rouge for LSU's football game with rival Florida? No, there has not. Do we expect a public announcement reflecting that information? No, we do not. Still, thousands of seemingly innocent LSU and for that matter Florida Gator fans could find themselves subject to police scrutiny by the time Saturday night's game ends.

If you weren't aware the college football season for the LSU Tigers will put the team in the friendly confines of Death Valley for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday night against the Florida Gators. There is a lot of bad blood between the two schools. But it's more of the trash talk/poke fun kind of "bad blood" as opposed to the actual spilling of blood between the fan bases.

Oddsmakers in Las Vegas have installed Brian Kelly's Tigers as 13.5 point favorite to down the Billy Napier-coached Gators. Many Louisiana fans remember Napier from his days with UL's Ragin Cajuns in Lafayette. There was even some speculation as Ed Orgeron was departing the Tigers program that perhaps Napier might be considered for the head coach job at LSU.

But as events unfolded Brian Kelly was hired from Notre Dame to take over the Tiger program and Napier opted to take his skills, and several UL players to Gainesville to help rebuild a once powerful Florida program to greatness. So far, that hasn't happened for Billy but he does have a talented team and by all accounts, the Tigers had better be ready to play.

One question mark for the Tigers this week is the health of starting quarterback Jayden Daniels who was put into the concussion protocol following a very controversial hit by an Alabama defender on Saturday night. The video of the hit was forwarded to the SEC Offices for review. Many believe the hit should have been a targeting foul but that penalty was not called.

Why Could Thousands of Football Fans be Subject to Arrest at LSU on Saturday Night?

College football fans are passionate people. And sometimes that passion takes over their ability to think calmly and rationally and to be honest, even the most faithful law-abiding college football fan in the country has probably committed the crime that could be enforced on Saturday night.

So, what's the law all these fans could be held accountable for breaking during Saturday's LSU vs Florida game?

It's in the Municipal Code for East Baton Rouge Parish. It's Sec. 13:106.1 of that code and if I had a dollar for every time that section of the code is broken at Tiger Stadium I would be retired with a lot of money.

Here is what Sec. 13:106.1 of the East Baton Rouge Parish Municipal Code States:

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to use indecent, vile, profane, or blasphemous language which tends to foreseeably cause a breach of the peace on or near the streets, alleys, sidewalks or other places of public resort.

(b) Whoever commits the crime of using profanity shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned for not more than six (6) months, or both.

Yeah, there's a law against cursing in public in East Baton Rouge Parish and I am willing to bet there will be a whole lot of cursing going on Saturday night during the LSU vs Florida game.

Of course, the big question with Sec. 13:106.1 of the East Baton Rouge Parish Municipal Code is this, "who is going to enforce this and how are you going to prove it"? The answer is nobody and nobody. It's college football, sometimes it requires what SpongeBob Squarepants would call "spicy words". Especially when the referees are not watching the same game that is being played on the field.

Wait? Is somebody playing Neck?

Ain't it funny how we make laws that only apply in certain situations when it fits the mood? Best of luck to your team and if you wouldn't mind, please watch your language, especially if younger fans are present.