lsu's "chinese bandits" fight song

College football season is starting up, which is cool. So I guess this is as good a time as any to bring this up... Has anyone ever paid attention to the lyrics of LSU's "Chinese Bandits" fight song? The band apparently plays the song when they have a turnover or a defense stop, while Tiger fans "bow" to the defense:

Chinese Bandits on their way,
Listen What Confucius say:
"Tiger Bandits like to KNOCK,
Gonna stop a touchdown.
CHOP CHOP !!!

You can listen to the song above. According to the comment, the music and lyrics to this song were written halfway through the National Championship season of 1958. Isn't that nice? Glad to hear that LSU has held on to this awesome racist relic. All in good fun, right? (Thanks, Brendan.)


UPDATE: According to Wikipedia, there's some significant LSU football lore behind the "Chinese Bandits" and the tune:

In 1958, however, Dietzel came up with a unique 3-team platoon system. It consisted of 3 teams of 11 different players, and was designed to keep his players from being fatigued in an era when most players started on both offense and defense. Instead of replacing individual players during the game, Dietzel would bring in an entirely new set of players between plays and series. The three teams were called the White Team (the first-string offense and defense), the Gold (Go) Team (the second-string offense), and the Chinese Bandits (the second-string defense). The system worked, as the Tigers went undefeated and won the 1958 national championship. The Chinese Bandits second-string defensive unit, which consisted of less-talented but ferocious players, became hugely popular with LSU fans and remains one of the most legendary pieces of LSU football history.

Interesting bit of history, though it doesn't do much to change the racist nature of the song. Unless, of course, there were actual bandits of Chinese descent playing on LSU's second-string defensive unit back in 1958. Nope.

There is, however, this famous, crazy-ass LIFE magazine photo above, of the 1958 LSU "Chinese Bandits" posed in their game uniforms sporting green rubber "Chinese" masks. No doubt, a force to be reckoned with. That is ridiculous and astounding. And yes, that's racist! (Thanks, Mark.)