Born to Be a Tiger Too

Born to be a Tiger, too is the story of a father bringing his daughter to her very first LSU home football game. A pair of magical shoes paves the way for an extraordinary adventure of discovery and victory in Tiger Stadium.
When Jady Regard set out to write a children’s book on LSU football, he assumed his audience would be children. But since advanced copies of this book began circulating, Regard has been surprised by the reaction of “grown-ups.”

“I’ve seen interest from all ages,” said Regard, of New Iberia. “We’ve had fathers giving it to their sons, sons to their fathers, grandfathers to their sons, mothers to daughters.

“Anybody who has shared this experience has shown interest in it. There’s been no set persons or demographics.”

Regard has been pleased with the reaction to his debut book, “Born to be a Tiger,” published by Regard’s Little Band Man Company. Tom Sylvest Jr. of Baton Rouge provides the illustrations for the 32-page, all color, hardcover book.

“Born to be a Tiger Too” is the first-person story of a young girl going to her first LSU football game.

“I've been a Tiger Fan my whole life. My Mommy and Daddy say I am just like my brother and that I was born to be a Tiger, too. In fact, the first two words I ever spoke were GO TIGERS. Since that moment I was brought home from the Hospital, its been LSU all the way for this little girl."

The last two pages of the book are blank, except for the headlines, “My Favorite Tiger Autographs.”

Regard, an LSU graduate who also holds a master’s degree from Texas A&M, admits the story is autobiographical. But he says it can be shared by many.

“LSU football is a real tradition for a lot of families in south Louisiana,” said Regard, the former general manager of the Louisiana IceGators hockey team. “It’s a way we share time together, and for a lot of people, it just comes natural.

“With the autograph section, it becomes a keepsake. A child might get Les Mile's autograph and 20 years from now, she’ll have some cool stories to tell.”

Regard also has stories to tell about the book, his first journey into publishing. Instead of trying to sell his work to a publisher, Regard decided to pay and supervise the project from start to finish— from the initial idea to writing and publication to shipping and distribution.

The book also becomes a part of The Little Band Man Company, which creates miniature college marching bands like LSU, Texas A&M and Ohio State. Sets of these hand-sculpted and hand-painted figures of white metal sell for as much as $375.

" A Big High Five for, Born to be a Tiger, Too! "
Mike the Tiger