LSU shined up a very specific part of the rivalry trophy it won against Arkansas

LSU rolled over Arkansas last week, and in so doing, the Tigers won the Golden Boot. That’s the programs’ rivalry trophy, which is a golden cutout of Arkansas and Louisiana on a map. Together, those states are shaped like a boot. Get it?

Over the years, a rivalry trophy gets grubbed up a lot. It can lose its shine, or it can get downright dirty. LSU decided to deal with that, but only partially.

Interim LSU coach Ed Orgeron, previously:

LSU fans don’t care a great deal about the Boot, which they view as a symbol of a rivalry with an inferior program that doesn’t have their history. From Dan Davis, the editor of LSU blog And The Valley Shook:

We HATE that trophy. Partially because it’s ugly. Partially because our fan base don’t consider Arkansas a “true rival.” It’s clear their fan base and team take that game much more seriously than ours do. I’d even say Bielema’s job would be on fire if not for back-to-back victories vs. LSU. Credit to them, they’ve taken it to us three years in a row now and come out on top twice. They don’t have as much talent as we do, but they want it more. That much is obvious.

But despite LSU fan apathy toward the trophy, the Tigers’ players clearly care about it. Look at their excitement upon winning it in Fayetteville last week, after the Hogs had won the dang thing two years in a row:

Arkansas has to wait at least a year for the chance to make the northern portion of the trophy as nice and shiny as the southern part.