BATON ROUGE - Tiger fans danced to the live music of Rockin Dupses at the PMAC before Saturday's first LSU home football game of the season, and folks gathered for large tailgates around the stadium, something that wasn't allowed last year because of the pandemic.

"Last year was very sad. It was depressing for all of us," Tiger fan Jeannie Darling said.

Darling is part of the GNG Tiger Express and Social Club, which have been tailgating at the same location for the past 26 years.

"I was like a kid Christmas morning, waking up to come out here," Darling said.

She even gave a large donation to the school during the pandemic last year to buy the oak tree where she tailgates.

Fans tailgated for the first time in more than a year, and they also stood in long lines at the PMAC for the first time to be screened for COVID, a new requirement to attend the game.

"It doesn't make any sense to me, but I'm doing it because I want to go to the game, " LSU fan Danny Lagrown said.

Lagrown, who is from Monroe and unvaccinated, says standing in line to be tested before being allowed to go inside Tiger Stadium is a waste of his time.

"First thing is, vaccinated people don't have to go through this line to prove they have COVID or not. And they can transfer it, and they get it just like we can," Lagrown said.

The university provided free COVID vaccinations for fans who showed up to the game.