Get our free mobile app

Sometimes optics matter. That's why people always warn you about "first impressions".

So when a billboard in Baton Rouge featuring LSU Head Football Coach (for now) Ed Orgeron starts getting pulled down the day after the university announced they're firing him, people get a certain impression.

In fact, when fans got video of the act, they took it to Twitter right away. When they did, they tagged the owner of the company advertised on that billboard...Todd Graves, the founder of Raising Canes.

The billboard is part of the long-standing endorsement deal between the phenomenal Raising Canes and the man who led LSU to the greatest season in college football history, Coach O. Its a marketing campaign that spans from cups to cardboard cutouts, from billboards to shirts. You can't miss it, which is the sign on of a great campaign.

However that also means a lot of people are well aware of those billboards. So when something changes, they take notice.

But apparently there's a deeper story, which we learned because Raising Cane's founder Todd Graves actually responded to the Tweet with the video. Both of these outcomes are pretty impressive. Here is what Todd Graves Tweeted back:

So this is either the weirdest set of coincidences, a really good excuse, creative story, or a combination of all.

Based on Graves' willingness to tackle this head-on through Twitter, I tend to believe him. But that doesn't mean there wasn't a decision made to take the billboard down based on Sunday's announcement of Orgeron's firing.

Graves said the Canes contract ended at the end of September. But the billboard came down on October 18th, more than two weeks after their contract ended. So, hypothetically, what if a decision to bring it down was made because of the firing, but that decision wasn't made by Canes and Graves, but rather by the billboard company? Seems possible at least.

Either way, this is just the first of many Coach O signs and billboards that will be coming down across the state.

The Top 14 Colleges & Universities In Louisiana For 2022

The website WalletHub has ranked out the Top 14 schools in Louisiana for 2022. Here are the results

Top 5 Most Loyal Fanbases In The NFL In 2021

Here's the list put together using Lineups.com's research into NFL fan behavior.

Top 10 Choices to Replace Ed Orgeron at LSU

More From 1130 The Tiger