Lauren Daigle Recalls LSU Fans Turning A Traffic Jam Into A Party In Most Louisiana Story Ever

For Lafayette native Lauren Daigle, rooting for LSU is a family affair. 

In the newest episode of Southern Living’s Biscuits & Jam podcast, Daigle discusses everything from her Christian faith to the illness that kept her homebound for two years during high school, as well as her family’s deep ties to LSU sports. 

The self-described “massive Tiger fan,” told editor-in-chief Sid Evans that she went to LSU football games regularly as a child. Though she jokes that she “grew up on LSU’s campus,” her father Mark, whose parents worked for the university, actually did.  

“My dad and mother were married on LSU's campus,” Daigle said. “And my dad was also born and raised in the dorms. So, yeah, there's a lot of heritage, a lot of history in the school, and I treasure that school so much.”

Before the American Idol alum got a record deal and moved to Nashville in 2013, she spent two years at the Baton Rouge institution working on a degree in child and family studies.  

“Those two years that I was at LSU were some of the richest years of my life. I mean, I loved it so much. I love school. I love the culture. I love how much we celebrate everything,” Daigle said with a laugh. “It's just a lot of fun.” 

The Grammy winner went on to share a post-game anecdote that she said shows the true nature of Tiger fans.  

“One time I was going back to Lafayette after a [football] game with my manager,” Daigle recalled. “So to get from Baton Rouge to Lafayette, you take the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, which is like, a 19-mile long bridge. And we're on this bridge and a wreck happens, which, you know, was unfortunate, and it's like 1:00 in the morning, 'cause those games last late by the time you get out of the stadium and everything.” 

“And there was a charter bus in front of us that opened their doors, blasted the music,” she continued. “Everybody gets out of their cars and starts doing line dances on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, while we're waiting for like two hours. People pull out barbecue pits and start cooking on the side.”

Daigle couldn’t help but laugh as she recounted the uniquely Louisianian scene.

“My point is as a culture, we know how to celebrate, we know how to have a good time. We know how to turn things that can seem dim and gray into sunny, rainbow skies,” she concluded. “It's just the way that we were raised. And so, a lot of that goes into the LSU culture as well.”

Download and listen to this episode of Biscuits & Jam with Lauren Daigle on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or everywhere podcasts are available.