Football: Paint the town red + tailgating photo gallery 9/2/12

Football: Paint the town red &#434343434343; tailgating photo gallery 9/2/12

Matthew Sigur, Daily Advertiser, September 2, 2012

UL fan Johnathan Billeaudeu, 10, holds still for a UL temporary tattoo outside Cajun Field Saturday before the Cajuns’ first home game of the 2012 season against Lamar.

Thunder, lighting, rain, and mud couldn’t stop University of Louisiana at Lafayette football fans Saturday.

The weather was arguably as bad as anything Hurricane Isaac brought during the week; yet, fans still poured into the Cajun Field parking lot and across the area to show their support for the college football team.

The town was painted bright red in anticipation to see how the Cajuns’ 2012 season would start.At 3 p.m., Ibrahim Balbeisi, manager at Agave Mexican Restaurant and Grill located off Bertrand Drive, was winding down from a rush of fans coming in from the rain.

Saturday was Agave’s new location’s first tailgating experience. The restaurant opened in February within walking distance of Cajun Field. Balbeisi said the restaurant had lots of customers from noon to 3 p.m. Overall, it was a good experience."The rain backed us up, but we were still very busy," Balbeisi said. "The rain came for me to get my experience, so I could do my homework and prepare for the next game. Today was our warm-up. We passed it. Now, we’re ready for the game."

The restaurant’s festivities included hot dishes from Agave and Zeus’, cold drinks served inside and outside on the patio, and music from variety band Hydromatic. Agave will continue tailgating for each home game of the UL season.As Babeisi talked about Saturday, he sounded like a coach, ready for the next game."We’re not going to give up," he said. "It’s going to be good. We did our homework today. We’re familiar with the downtown atmosphere — Mardi Gras, Downtown Alive! This event was different. Downtown, we have a lot of people coming and hanging out. Here, it was in and out. It needed to be fast-paced. I got a lot of help. It was all the (Balbeisi) brothers on a mission."

While some fans were enjoying a little time in a dry place, others were in the Cajun Field parking lot, enjoying the Saturday. Though the parking lot was muddy and wet, fans were lined up in the lot, feasting on barbecue chicken, boudin, chips and chicken sausage.

Near the fence off Bertrand Drive, three men had just come back from touring the stadium in a lawnmower with a side cart and sugarcane trailer in the back.

"I’m soaking wet, from my nose to my toes," Brandon Quebedeaux said.

Quebedeaux, aka "Coo Coo," was dressed in dark blue overalls, a bright red wig, a WWE-style belt, a pale white helmet, sunglasses and shrimp boots. Quebedeaux was tailgating with his friends Blake "Pee Pee" Chachere and Matthew "Da Chu" Wiltz.Chachere and Wiltz were dressed similarly, both in blue overalls. Chachere kicked his costume up a notch, wearing a black Ragin’ Cajuns helmet with red spikes coming out the top, a WWE-style belt called "The Sun Belt," red wig, and football shoulder pads. Wiltz, the newest member of the group, was wearing a rotating wrestling-style belt, football helmet and blue overalls.

The crew had been tailgating since 8:30 a.m."We’ve been dressing up like this since 2006, when they wasn’t so good," Chachere said.

Chachere works for Slemco Energy. With the weather this week, he wasn’t sure he would be able to make the game."I just finished yesterday at 3 p.m.," Chachere said. "All of my friends at work were like, ‘Man, what are you going to do if you don’t make it?’ I said, ‘Man, I don’t know, I guess I’ll have to lose my job.’"

Quebedeaux drove from Houston to make it to the game. There, he works as a health and safety environmental manager for an oil field company."We’ve been doing this for a long time," Quebedeaux said. "The crew fluctuates in and out, but we go to the game together. We all graduated from UL, and it’s something we love to do."

The three men were a part of group of 30 friends who have grown up together and go to the games. They all had general admission seats near the 50-yard line to Saturday night’s game."Each home game, we get everything set up, get everybody fed, drink a little bit, and enjoy the festivities," Chachere said. "We have to make our pass around the entire field on our lawnmower, talk to everybody, and make sure everybody’s having a good time."

These three fans, like UL Coach Mark Hudspeth, have expectations for this season. All three guys expect nine or more wins this season."I like Hud’s energy," Chachere said. "Last year was lagniappe. We were coming in from nothing and had no expectations. This year, the expectations are higher. We have a lot more to live up to this year.""We’re never gonna let go of the rope," Quebedeaux said.

"Aw, yeah, Coach will drag a hog through a mud pit with that rope," Chachere said. "He’s ready to get it."

Click here for tailgating photo gallery of home-opening vs. Lamar