Plenty of Chick-fil-A Bowl tickets available; T-shirt sales slow

As of this afternoon, about 6,000 of the 16,000 Chick-fil-A Bowl tickets allotted to LSU for Monday’s game remained available, says LSU Sports Information Director Michael Bonnette. “We’re hoping that as we get closer to game day people will change their minds and find their way to the game,” says Bonnette, who arrived in Atlanta with the team on Wednesday. “There’s a huge LSU alumni base here, so we’re hopeful all of those remaining tickets will be sold.” On the other side of the field, there also appears to be plenty of tickets available for Clemson fans. Based on a quick search of tickets via the Clemson ticketing website, dozens of lower level seats can be had as near as 16 rows off the field. Regarding demand for bowl-related LSU Tigers T-shirts, College District owner Jared Loftus says it has been “real lackluster.” “LSU has been so fortunate in recent years as far as bowl games, and I think there’s also a little stigma about any games that get played before Jan. 1. And even though this one is just five hours before Jan. 1, it’s just not as highly regarded, and our sales reflect that,” Loftus says. Bonnette did not have any information on demand for officially licensed Chick-fil-A Bowl merchandise, but says, “just walking around here in downtown Atlanta, the Chick-Fil-A Bowl and LSU logos can be seen everywhere, so they’re obviously excited about it.” —Steve Sanoski