Groundskeepers at Charles Schwab Field Omaha arrived early Wednesday morning to find an unwelcome surprise near second base: several large clumps of littered infield, damp patches along the baseline, and deep drag marks where turf had been frantically kicked backward in a familiar scooping motion.
The disruption came just hours before the next round of the Men’s College World Series, throwing pregame preparations into chaos.
Security footage later confirmed the culprit: LSU’s massive 13-foot fiberglass tiger, Mardi Gras Mike, had apparently broken free from its trailer sometime after midnight and calmly used the infield as a litter box under cover of darkness.
“It wasn’t an accident. It was… intentional,” said CWS grounds crew chief Harold Greeley, holding back dry heaves. “He looked around. He backed up into position. He did the thing cats do with their paws. There are claw marks on home plate.”
The surveillance video, now under review by NCAA officials, shows the tiger circling the pitcher’s mound twice before settling on second base for what one analyst called “a textbook deposit.” The statue then kicked dirt aggressively for several minutes, sending clumps of turf flying into the dugouts.
Neutral Ground News Security footage from Camera 5 at Schwab Field captures the moment LSU’s 13-foot ‘Mardi Gras Mike’ tiger statue appears to defile the infield, prompting delays at the Men’s College World Series. (Image via Neutral Ground News / NCAA Surveillance Feed)
“There’s no real protocol for this,” said NCAA spokesperson Dana Helm. “There’s nothing in the rulebook about oversized feline mascots relieving themselves on regulation playing surfaces. We’re consulting with minor league baseball’s Savannah Bananas.”
The incident delayed field prep by nearly three hours, as cleanup crews were forced to treat the area with industrial absorbent, bleach, and, per one anonymous staffer, “just straight-up holy water.”
LSU officials have offered no apology.
“This was a dominance display, plain and simple,” said Coach Jay Johnson. “You don’t send Mardi Gras Mike across the country in an open-air trailer and expect him to hold it. He did what tigers do. And honestly? It’s a recruiting moment.”
Players from Louisville and Coastal Carolina, who are scheduled to play the first game of the day, were reportedly “unsettled” during morning warm-ups, with several refusing to take grounders near the affected area. One assistant coach was overheard whispering, “It still smells like intimidation.”
At press time, Mardi Gras Mike was still strapped securely to its trailer, exactly where it had been left the night before, raising serious questions about what the hell actually happened on that field.