Saturday, May 19, 2007

Mike V to 'stand right up and roar' no more


Mike the Tiger is dead. Long live Mike the Tiger.

That is, as soon as Louisiana State University officials find a suitable Mike VI to replace the dearly departed Mike V, who left for that eternal jungle in the sky Friday morning.

I HOPE THE NEW KID doesn't mind idiot cheerleaders banging on his cage/trailer -- come future autumn Saturday nights -- trying to make him roar as he, it and they careen (OK, creep) around Tiger Stadium. Back in the day, we denizens of the student section had a special cheer for this . . . the ritual of the perpetually peppy people pounding on the poor creature's mobile lair, then sticking a PA mike in Mike's face.

It went something like this:
Let Mike out!
Let Mike out!
Let Mike out!
Let Mike out!
ALAS, the running-dog, proto-fascist, conformist trainers never would let Mike out to wreak his revenge on the cheerleaders who, truth be told, bugged the crud out of us anyway.

There was a strain of the Caligula-esque that ran through the Tiger Stadium student section back then. Probably now, too.

Here's the (Baton Rouge) Advocate obit for poor, dead Mike V:
LSU’s Bengal tiger mascot, Mike V, died Friday morning of renal failure, university officials said.

Mike V was admitted to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine on Wednesday for a routine exam, said Dr. David Baker, Mike’s veterinarian.

Baker discovered a condition called idiopathic chylothorax. Emergency surgery was performed to remove 10 liters of fluid from around the tiger’s lungs. As a result of the anesthesia, Mike’s kidneys failed and he was placed on renal dialysis, which was unsuccessful, Baker said Friday during a news conference at the school.

Baker said a necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of the chylothorax. Mike V will be cremated and his ashes placed in an as yet undetermined location, he said.

Mike V was born in October 1989 and began representing LSU in 1990. The famed mascot was given to LSU by Thomas and Caroline Atchison of the Animal House Zoological Park in Moulton, Ala., according to the LSU Web site.

LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe said the tiger will be missed.

“It’s sad, but he leaves a great long legacy,” O’Keefe said. “He brought a lot of enthusiasm to folks and joy to lots of kids.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, in a statement, said “Mike V served Louisiana State University as more than a mascot. He was an epic symbol that represented the unique spirit of our state’s flagship university. Citizens across our state and LSU fans around the world are saddened by Mike’s passing. I know that Mike’s spirit will live on through his successor as a new era begins at LSU.”

Mike V arrived at LSU after his predecessor, Mike IV, was retired to the Greater Baton Rouge Zoo at age 15. Mike V’s first road trip was to the Superdome in December 1991 for a basketball game against Texas, which LSU won.

Plans are under way to find a new tiger, possibly a cub or juvenile, Baker said.

“I’m not so concerned about getting a tiger quickly, but getting the right tiger,” Baker said. The next tiger, he said, will be a male Bengal tiger.

Baker had announced in March that Mike V was in the first stage of retirement, meaning he would not have been encouraged to roar any more at football games had he survived longer.

Despite losing weight and muscle, Baker has said, Mike was still reasonably healthy and had a good attitude.

But, as mascot for 17 years, Mike V was already old for a tiger and the third-oldest Mike yet. None have lived past 19.

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