In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Drew Brees came to the rescue for the New Orleans Saints and, by extension, the city of New Orleans and even the state of Louisiana.
But in the aftermath of his disappointing absence from the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday night in Natchitoches, Seimone Augustus, Wilbert Ellis, Kerry Joseph and the rest of the honorees came to the rescue to make it one of the Hall’s more memorable induction ceremonies ever.
The best line of the night? Let’s give it to Tom Burnett, winner of the Dave Dixon Sports Leadership Award, who was the honoree that followed Brees. In a taped Q and A video for the ceremony, Brees said he couldn’t attend because he was on vacation in Japan for two weeks with his family. That served as a cue for a punch line from Burnett, a West Monroe High and Louisiana Tech graduate who capped a career in sports administration by chairing the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for the 2021-22 season.
“On behalf of Drew Brees,” Burnett said before his Q and A session, “it’s good to be here tonight. Our Japan trip is next week.”
One gentleman who showed up under difficult circumstances for the “Walk of Legends” of past inductees was rodeo legend T.B. “Teaberry” Porter of Leesville. He didn’t walk across the stage, but it didn’t matter. At age 97, sporting an eye patch and hobbled enough that he walks with a cane, he got a rousing ovation. Just showing up is the first victory in any competition, and it’s triumphant when you’ve given your all.
If you love Louisiana, the saying goes, Louisiana will love you back, and that was the case with Porter. It was also the case with Lafayette native and wrestling and MMA legend Daniel Cormier, who was not able to attend because he was working as a commentator for a UFC telecast in Saudi Arabia.
The much-decorated Cormier said being inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame was “as big an honor as I’ve had in my entire life.”
Perry Clark, a native of Washington D.C., had unprecedented and amazingly quick success resurrecting Tulane basketball’s fortunes after the New Orleans university’s four-year self-imposed shutdown in the wake of a point-shaving scandal. Again, like so many others, he spoke of his love for New Orleans and Louisiana.
“This is the most wonderful group of people in the country,” he gushed. “You love with your heart. You give with dedication and care. We had to live up to your energy, your desires and the things you hold very, very special – loyalty and caring. If I ever get accused of being too loyal, I hope they find enough evidence to find me guilty.”
There was a genuine, endearing quality to the 10 inductees who were present. Repeated themes, and timeless ones, were the value of faith in God, hard work, and good mentoring by parents or coaches or others, to achieving success.
Baseball coach and ambassador Wilbert Ellis, the last of the three titans of Grambling’s fabled sports history, along with the late Eddie Robinson (football) and Fred Hobdy (basketball), had a little more than 180 fans and admirers at the banquet, which had its second largest crowd ever (800-plus), according to LSHOF chairman Doug Ireland.
Ellis stressed his passion in coaching was to “make a difference in the lives” of the young people.
He encouraged other coaches and parents and grandparents to tell young people – in these times when “we are in serious trouble” — about right and wrong.
Former LSU women’s basketball star Seimone Augustus, the greatest woman’s basketball player in Louisiana history, recently took a job as assistant coach under LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey, and she confided to Mulkey of some worries of how she might best communicate as a coach with the players.
“She told me. ‘Be yourself,’” Seimone said. Which isn’t a problem for her. Never has been. She defied the trend of fellow coveted recruits who were signing with either Tennessee or Connecticut, by signing with LSU in 2002.
“I’ve never considered myself a trend follower but a trend setter,” said Seimone, a Baton Rouge native.
Any of those honored Saturday could have said the same. Folks in the Bayou State love it most when the trend setting is woven, with love and loyalty, into the fabric of Louisiana.