OLEMISS BASEBALL: THINGS TO DO IN LAFAYETTE, LA
Ole Miss broke through one of the hardest regionals in America beating #14 Washington and now they advance to play national seed University of Louisiana Lafayette at the Lafayette Super Regional, starting this Saturday June 7 through the 9th, 2014.
The Sunbelt champ is ranked #1 in America according to some polls so the Road to Omaha doesn’t get any easier for the Rebels .
If you are making a trip down I-10 West for the series there are a few things you should know to make your trip and weekend a success.
1. Check your passport
You won’t technically need a passport to visit Lafayette but it can be like entering another country. Lafayette is the capitol of Acadiana, the area of French speaking peoples in South Louisiana. While you will certainly cross paths with a Cajun and encounter some different accents, Lafayette is also on the northern edge of this region; so you shouldn’t have too much trouble talking to folks in town. If you have time, drive on down to Vermilion Parish to the town of Kaplan, known as the most Cajun town on earth. More info at Lafayettetravel.com
2. Good luck finding tickets
As Lafayette is the host school, most of the tickets will be sold to Lafayette season ticket holders and boosters of the school. There will be a limited supply of tickets made available to Ole Miss fans in the grand total of 400. So we will go from playing in front of 10,000 rowdy Ole Miss fans last weekend to playing in front of 3,000 rowdy Ragin Cajuns. I’m sure our boys can handle that.
Don’t let this discourage you from making the trip though. Lafayette can be a lot of fun, even if it is not the most picturesque town. If Ole Miss wins the first game, tickets will become more easy to get your hands on for Sunday. And even if you don’t, keep reading for more things to do while you wait.
3. Get ready to eat well
Lafayette is not quite the party town that New Orleans or even Baton Rouge is but there is some serious seafood and Cajun food in this town. One of the sure bets would be the Blue Dog Cafe. You have probably seen the somewhat famous blue dog paintings in popular culture, from Lafayette native George Rodrique. This restaurant is full of his paintings and Cajun/Creole food. I would describe it as slightly upscale. Bluedogcafe.com
Prejeans is a Cajun version of a catfish house. The food could be better but I love the décor and think that is important also when you are a tourist. Most all of your menu items are also stuffed and hanging on the wall. Take your picture beside a huge 9 foot alligator or any number of other swamp creatures as you dine on their cousin’s battered and deep fried flesh. Most of the food is brown but that’s ok. Prejeans.com
Louisiana Crawfish Time! This is where you go if you want to get a few pounds of crawfish and get dirty. A tin roof and concrete floor joint that makes you feel like you can relax and enjoy the spicy little bugs without worrying about white tablecloths. Lacrawfishtime.com
You will also find good authentic Cajun music with that signature accordion and fiddle played at most of these restaurants.
4. Daiquiri Drive By’s
Maybe I am the only one that cares about this sort of thing but being able to buy a huge daiquiri while driving is just a novelty that has not worn thin with me. Buy one on the way back to the hotel one night. Or every night.
5. Nightlife
There is a small entertainment district in downtown Lafayette sorta like the square in Oxford. There are a few bars around Jefferson and Congress streets that you should be able to catch some of the games on TV if you can’t get tickets and they won’t let you watch the games from the street.
6. Take some seafood home!
On your way back to Mississippi, win or lose, stop by Chez Francois live fish house and pick up a cheap cooler full of shrimp, oysters or crawfish. Check them out here at cfseafood.com
You may want to go full tourist and do a swamp tour or visit a Cajun museum. The Acadian people have a unique history and it is worth exploring for yourself.
While a super in Lafayette is no substitute for hosting a super-regional in Oxford, let’s all go and take over the town and show our boys our support as they try to break down the door to Omaha!
Go Rebs!