Jaguars and Tigers Battled It Out

While most of America is still carving up turkey, the Crescent City dives headlong into three days of combat. Two hundred thousand fans and alumni come to stand on the sidelines. But they’re not just here to watch football.

Southern University and Grambling State count their marching bands as two of the best in the country. They are big, loud, brassy. An absolute sonic delight, as worthy of your attention as any touchdown or blitz.

On the Friday before game day, Southern’s Human Jukebox and Grambling’s Tiger Marching Band duke it out in the Superdome.

Placed side by side, staggered on stands, the two become a wall of sound. They pulse and shake and sway in time with the music. Dancers, all sequins and spandex, punctuate the noise with hip rolls and hair flips.

The bands volley back and forth, trying to outdo each other with ecstatic renditions of contemporary pop, played on the instruments that built jazz.

There is no judge in this contest. No winner is called.

Saturday’s game is more clear cut.

The Jaguars and Tigers kick and punt and hook. Players vie for victory, aim to take a leg up in what’s been a multi-decade dead heat.

Southern. Southern. Grambling. Grambling.

On it goes. Each team always one game ahead or behind.

The score, for many, might be besides the point. The Bayou Classic is about more than the game.

It’s about coming home.

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