LSU legend Joe Burrow makes appearance at College World Series Final on Saturday night

Former LSU football legend Joe Burrow knows a thing or two about bringing home a national crown to Baton Rouge. The former Heisman Trophy winner was in attendance in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday night to cheer on the Tigers during their Game 1 CWS Final matchup with the Florida Gators. He was seen in a suite at Charles Schwab Field with a Kid Cudi t-shirt on.

Check out the brief video below.

Jeaux Beaurreaux at the CWS pic.twitter.com/8eH8WlHQXj

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 24, 2023

Burrow is just one of many LSU fans that have made their way to Charles Schwab Field this weekend for the Tigers’ first appearance in a CWS Final since 2017. Koki Riley even estimated that Charles Schwab Field was full of 85-90 percent LSU fans for Game 1, according to one of his tweets.

In the bottom of the third inning on Saturday night, LSU leads Florida, 2-0. The Tigers tacked on an early run thanks to a Cade Beloso single bringing Dylan Crews home. Then Tigers’ slugger Gavin Dugas drilled a solo shot in the top of the third inning, to stretch the LSU lead to 2-0.

It certainly feels like the Tigers are a team of destiny this season. It’ll be exciting to see how this weekend’s battle for the national title plays out. It’s been an absolutely incredible College World Series this year much to the delight of college baseball fans across the country.

For more on Saturday night’s game, check out the interview with Jay Johnson below.

Jay Johnson discussed managing the emotions for LSU

In just his second season as the LSU head baseball coach, Jay Johnson has the Tigers back on the biggest stage in college baseball. LSU is set to face off against the Florida Gators in Game 1 of their best-of-three championship series this weekend. Around an hour before the start of the game on Saturday night, Jay Johnson took some time to speak with ESPN sideline reporter Kris Budden on a number of topics.

One of the toughest things for LSU is they just won one of the most thrilling game of the 2023 college baseball season on Thursday night against the Wake Fores Demon Deacons. It’s been a short turnaround for the Tigers for Saturday night’s Game 1 matchup in the championship series. How has Johnson been able to manage his team for the past couple of days? Did he allow his players time to enjoy the magical win against Wake Forest?

“Yeah, you have to do that,” Johnson began. “That was a special win. I wanted them to enjoy that that night. And then we had an expiration date on that which was practice time yesterday. Turned our attention to Florida. You know, when you only have one day to prepare, the coaching staff at least, we’ve been totally immersed in that. And we’re ready to go. It’s been a good time.”

What was he thinking about on the short five-minute bus ride over to Charles Schwab Field on Saturday night? “Just gratitude. You know, very thankful to be here. Thankful to be here with this team. I mean, we just need to stay in character and play out best. When they do that, usually things go our way,” said Johnson.

Both baseball programs have very prestigious histories

As expected, LSU fans have shown up and in a big way in Omaha for the Tigers’ first CWS Final appearance since 2017. Is anyone left in Baton Rouge today? “I hope not,” Johnson laughed. “It doesn’t appear that way and I certainly hope not. But we’re very thankful for them being here, for sure.”

The last time LSU was one of the final two teams in Omaha, they were on the losing end… to Florida. it’s the only time they have ever lost a championship series. The remaining six have resulted in national championships. It’s been a proud tradition in Baton Rouge.

Florida will have something to say about that, though.

The Gators were the first team to advance to the CWS Final, having defeated TCU 3-2 in the national semifinal. Florida has posted 9-1 overall record throughout the NCAA Tournament dating back to the Gainesville Regional. Their lone loss coming at the hands of Texas Tech, 5-4.

Florida knows a thing or two about one-run games, as all three of the Gators’ CWS wins have come by one run heading into the championship series. That includes wins over Virginia, Oral Roberts and finally TCU.

They will be looking to capture their second national championship in program history. Their lone title came in 2017, but the Gators have made the final series four times — including in 2023. Florida was the national runner-up in 2005 and 2011.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.