When attending any LSU sporting event, more likely than not you are going to find a particular group already in the stands in preparation to root for their favorite team.
More specifically, one of the individuals in this group lives behind a rather interesting disguise.
LSU senior Camden Worth, who is working toward a dual degree in political science and history, finds himself to bear a lot of resemblance to a childhood character.
“It was very random… I got these new glasses, literally, last semester, and the minute people saw me wearing them, they [said], ‘Oh, you kind of remind me of like, where's Waldo,’” Worth said. “I was like, oh, that's hilarious.”
While this comparison was extremely humorous, it planted the seed for potentially embracing this character’s noticeable identity.
“Two weeks before school started, I was just walking around Walmart, and there's this Waldo outfit,” Worth said. “And I [thought] that's perfect, because I was thinking about doing it for Halloween anyway.”
From being one of the over 100,000 roaring fans in Death Valley to being one of the only people in the make-shifted student section behind the goal posts for LSU Soccer (which he and his group created), Waldo does not play favorites when attending LSU sporting events.
“I think the only difference is that we have a little bit closer relationships over time with the smaller sports like soccer, swim and dive, volleyball,” Worth said. “We've gotten to know more of the coaches and the players on a more personal level…we're going to bring the same energy no matter where we go [no] matter if there are 20,000 people in the crowd [or] 200 people.”
Looking closer at his college choice, Waldo knew attending LSU was his destiny.
“I mean, with the grades I had, I probably could have [gone] just about anywhere, but it's just something about LSU,” Worth said. “From all the things [that] I read about online and stuff… the first time I visited Louisiana was after I've been accepted to LSU… but even the first time I came, it just felt like home, and it still feels like home.”
Through the combination of hurling comedic insults toward the opposing players and his adamant, yet screeching yelling, Waldo finds himself in the spotlight at every sporting event he attends with his group.
“I've had fans from other schools, especially like volleyball and soccer, [who] will come up to us and we'll just have a good time,” Worth said. “I know one time at soccer, we were playing Texas, and some Texas fans came and we were chatting with them, just having a good time… random people come and ask for, like, pictures and all that kind of stuff.”
However, the amount of pictures Waldo takes with intrigued individuals may surprise you.
“[During] the football game versus Ole Miss, I probably took close to 40 to 50 pictures that day and a lot of them were with Ole Miss fans, not even LSU fans,” Worth said. “I think it's just the image of Where's Waldo. Because everyone knows it and loves it.”
And don’t get it twisted, Waldo could care less about becoming popular or seeking fame.
“I don't necessarily do it for attention. I do it strictly just for the support of the players, because that's mainly what we've been about… especially for the smaller sports,” Worth said. “Raising more awareness, trying to increase student engagement, [and] trying to get more people out there to those sports.”
Notably, there are two other individuals who are a part of this particular group.
And one wears a popcorn bucket on his head to every LSU sporting event.
LSU junior Keagan Simon, majoring in kinesiology, finds himself becoming emotionally connected to the sports teams offered at LSU
“I think what makes LSU fans different from other fans across here… we’re just a passionate fan base,” Simon said. “Given the history of our athletics programs and the success we've had… we’re passionate about performances, passionate for the players and, you know, the players feed off of just us getting hype, showing the passion, screaming as loud as we can, just shaking the earth to its core.”
With aspirations of expanding the number of people in the student section, Simon wants to continue to lead by example and encourage other students to get outside their comfort zone.
“I believe my group and I are some of the true die-hards that we have over here,” Simon said. “And we're looking to build this group of die-hards and to be even bigger, you know, to have even more passionate student fans to come out and show support.”
In their attempts to rally the student sections at these games, this group has been personally challenged to continue leading the Tigers’ faithful with their contagious ways of support.
“We bring the energy,” Simon said. “[LSU Athletics] have told us that they wanted, they needed us to bring the energy and we have. The fans fed off that energy, and the teams fed[s] off that energy.”
The last remaining character of this group only likes to be referred to as one name: Cowboy.
LSU junior Kyle Thibodeaux, who is majoring in mechanical engineering, accepts the responsibility of leading the student section, no matter what sport he’s rooting for.
“We're looking forward to all the sports, it doesn't even matter what sports [are] coming up,” Thibodeaux said. “We always get together [and] discuss what sports we have on certain days, if sports are split up, like if they happen at the same time, me and the group will split. We want to make sure that we're there for the students and for the players.”
In the eyes of Cowboy, there isn’t a single event that if LSU was a part of, he wouldn’t be in the front row screaming the hat off the top of his head.
“[If] we had a chess team, and I knew exact times we were hosting it on campus, I would dress up just like this and I'll go sit behind them, waiting for him to say ‘checkmate’ just so I can jump up and start screaming,” Thibodeaux said. “Man, I would go watch water polo if I [had] to. I don't even care.
With this in mind, take into consideration Waldo's wise words.
“I'm not funny. I'm just half stupid, and I let my stupidity come across as funny,” Worth said.
Next time you find yourself at an LSU sporting event, see if you can locate the one and only Waldo and his side-kick friends.
And don’t be afraid to join alongside them in rooting for the purple and gold.
