BATON ROUGE – Louisiana State University fans are always in touch.
They’re always in touch with their inner tiger.
WGNO News with a Twist features guy Wild Bill Wood says they’re in touch with their inner tiger even when the inner tiger is actually an outer tiger.
That’s Mike the Tiger.
He’s the mascot, the real life tiger mascot for one of America’s best football teams.
When Mike the Tiger is happy, there’s a distinct sound that he makes.
It’s a cross between a growl and a roar and a purr.
But when Mike the Tiger is on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter, he doesn’t sound so much like himself.
Mike sounds more like his social media manager. That’s Ginger Guttner.
Wild Bill asks Ginger, “how do you get into the Mike the Tiger voice?”
Ginger says, “it’s just getting to see how sweet we can get. That’s the tone we’re going for.”
That’s the tiger tone for Louisiana State University`s mascot for Facebook, Instagram and even Twitter.
Wild Bill says to GInger, “he tweets like Donald Trump!”
Ginger says, “I think he tweets nicer than Donald Trump because even during football season, we talk a little smack about the other football teams, but he’s nice to other college mascots on line.”
Mike the Tiger is a little bit Bengal with some Siberian mixed in. He’s a 310-pound-meat-eating-year-old-rescue-cat from a Florida wildlife refuge.
The name Mike comes from the LSU athletic trainer who launched a long line of feline mascots
It’s a tiger tradition that started in 1936
And this Mike the Tiger is number seven.
