Early start not popular in Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE - A day game can scare the daylights out of many LSU fans, who love to have all day and most of the afternoon to tailgate. Plus they&#39;re superstitious about their team playing at any time but the nighttime. <br> <br> It can also be frightening to those restaurants and bars owners who cater to pre-game business, but it can be a boon to a dinner establishment. <br> <br> The No. 24 Tigers (2-1) will stage their first morning football game in five years when they play Mississippi State (1-1) at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 28 in Tiger Stadium. The game was moved up for regional Jefferson-Pilot television on Monday. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s a bummer,&#39;&#39; said Randy Wesley, the owner of the Pastime Restaurant, a traditional pre-game stop on Nicholson Drive. ``It will put a dent in our business. We won&#39;t sell near the beer we usually do.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Wesley will open at 9 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. so he can still get some pre-game business. <br> <br> ``We&#39;ll be serving Bloody Mary&#39;s,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> With the game ending probably between between 3 and 3:15 p.m., Wesley could have a better postgame business. <br> <br> ``But with the game at lunch time, the fans will be filling up on junk food,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Then they&#39;ll still have plenty of time to mow the grass. I do not like it, but it&#39;s good for the school.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Patrick Quigley, who owns Ivar&#39;s sports bar, will be opening at 10 a.m. a week from Saturday, instead of the usual 11 a.m. <br> <br> ``We&#39;ll have a nice football crowd, but it won&#39;t be as festive,&#39;&#39; he said. ``A lot of the fans need a few hours to warm up. It won&#39;t be the same. They say, &#39;There&#39;s nothing like Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.&#39; They don&#39;t say, &#39;There&#39;s nothing like 11:30 in the morning at Tiger Stadium.&#39;&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The early game will be perfect for Ruffino&#39;s Italian dinner business, however. <br> <br> ``I love it,&#39;&#39; said manager Ruffin Rodrigue, an LSU guard from 1986-89. ``We don&#39;t open until 4 p.m. anyway, and that&#39;s about when the game will be ending. The 7 p.m. kickoffs actually hurt us. We did really well after the Arkansas game last year.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> LSU has exorcised the day game demons from its system in recent years with three wins in its last four day games in Tiger Stadium, including the 41-38 victory over Arkansas last season. <br> <br> LSU also beat Alabama 30-28 in 2000 and Arkansas 35-10 in 1999 during daylight hours. The loss was to Florida, 44-15, last year. <br> <br> But 11:30 in the morning? The last time LSU played in that J-P time slot at home, it lost 36-21 to Ole Miss on Oct. 18, 1997 a week after upsetting No. 1 Florida. LSU would lose four of its next five day home games. <br> <br> ``It doesn&#39;t matter,&#39;&#39; tailback LaBrandon Toefield said. ``It doesn&#39;t matter what time the game is. It could be three in the morning. We&#39;re going to be ready. We&#39;re going to be up for the game.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Wide receiver Reggie Robinson agrees. <br> <br> ``We&#39;ll play at 7:30 in the morning, 8:30 in the morning,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Just as long as we go out there and try to dominate like we did Saturday (in a 33-7 win over Miami of Ohio at night).&#39;&#39; <br> <br> LSU coach Nick Saban wants the fans to adjust as his team adjusts. <br> <br> ``We played a no-huddle team last week, and we had to change our routine on defense,&#39;&#39; he said. ``So how about everybody changing their routine and getting their mind right for an 11:30 start? How about that? Because that&#39;s really what our team needs. They need to be supported and not for everybody to have the game when they like it to be played.&#39;&#39;

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