Turns Out The LSU Band Didn’t Play ‘Neck’ At The National Championship Game
I'm late to the party on a lot of LSU traditions. I grew up in Michigan, cheering for Michigan teams. But I'm married to an LSU fan, so I've been watching LSU football heavily for almost 20 years. Even with that, I wasn't really sure what this "Let the band play 'Neck" thing was all about until a few years ago.
But now I know, and I think it's hilarious.
So last night, while LSU was preparing to finish off Clemson in the College Football National Championship Game, and I heard the fans do the profanity-laced "Neck" chant, I assumed the band was finally playing "Neck" for the fans. Living LSU legend, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Joe Burrow thought they were playing it too... (WARNING: the NSFW chant can be heard in this audio as Burrow is shown taking part on the jumbotron)
So the song known by LSU fans as "Neck" is actually a song by the band Cameo called "Talkin' Out The Side Of Your Neck". It really has nothing to do with the chant LSU fans added to it. You can hear it here:
So that's the song that the LSU band is apparently banned from playing, due to the fan chant. So it would be a pretty big deal if the LSU band decided to break it out at the National Championship game, in front of the nation, and it seemed like they did it.
But according to TheSlate.com, the band actually didn't play "Neck" at all. Multiple band sources told The Slate that the song the band played was Panic! At The Disco's "Say Amen". You can hear that song below:
So what was it? Did the band actually play "Neck"? Or did they find a sneaky way to get around it to please the fans, students, and former players?