BATON ROUGE – The voice came from behind me early Monday morning as I was cleaning the “gifts” left on my back patio by Skippy the Wonder Bichon and his brother Buddy II.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Hall of Famer,” said a familiar voice.
I turned around. Skippy was standing in the doggie door, wearing his usual smirk.
“What’s the deal, Famer?” Skipper asked. “Wasn’t there a Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer pooper scooper in your swag bag? Hall of Fame czar Dougie ‘Fresh’ Ireland is one of my fans. I’m sure he could have gotten one made for me.”
“Hello, Skip,” I said. “So, you’re talking to me now? You didn’t have much to say yesterday after you and Buddy’s 3½-day stay in boarding.”
“Frankly, I was exhausted,” Skipper said. “On Thursday about an hour after you dropped us off, a lady accidently crashed her car through the front of the building.
“We heard the crash. Buddy got excited. He said, `I knew Dad was coming back to break us OUT!’ He got depressed again when I told him you and Mom were heading to Natchitoches for `RonFest.’ He immediately went into pout mode until you picked us up late yesterday afternoon.
“But I did watch the Hall of Fame ceremony streamed live on my iPhone. The best part of your induction was your introduction video that included a picture of me and Buddy. I thoroughly enjoyed the inductions of the other 9 inductees who showed up in person.
“Absent Lafayette-native mixed martial arts world champ Daniel Cormier’s pre-taped acceptance interview with Jacques Doucet of WAFB was sincerely heartfelt.”
“Yes, I thought it was great,” I said. “He’s trying to build a career as an ESPN MMA analyst. He got an unexpected call last week for a telecast assignment and chose to go instead of being inducted. He struggled with the decision.”
“Saints Super Bowl-winning QB Drew Brees didn’t show up,” Skip said. “He said in his video with Jacques, in an extremely disingenuous explanation, he couldn’t attend because he and his family were on a planned vacation in Japan. How does that happen?”
“Skipperoo, since we selected the Hall of Fame 2024 class last August, Hall of Fame Foundation CEO Ronnie Rantz and your friend Dougie Fresh tried to accommodate his availability to determine an induction date,” I said. “In November before Thanksgiving, they finally had to set the date because of the planning and logistics involved.
“Previous superstar LSHOF inductees — such as Peyton and Eli Manning, the Duck Commander Phil Robertson and Shaquille O’Neal – arrived Friday on the second day of the three-day celebration when they were inducted. They were genuinely thrilled to be part of the ceremony.
“Skip, all Drew Brees had to do was fly in on Saturday, be inducted, and fly out. I can’t believe he didn’t consider that his absence was a slap in the face to the city of Natchitoches and all the volunteers who work to make the event better each year, not to mention Saints fans who wanted to see him.
“The silver lining is the rest of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees – all either Louisiana natives or who played or coached in Louisiana high schools and colleges – were overwhelmed with gratitude. The packed house in the Natchitoches Events Center felt that love and returned it.
“As it turned out, the best way to describe Drew Brees’ absence is the lyric from a Dixie Chicks song `Goodbye Earl’ that says, `He was a missing person nobody missed at all.’”
“So, Mr. Famer, what was the best part of the weekend for you?” Skip asked.
“That’s easy,” I replied. “Having my family there and bonding with the rest of the induction class. I already knew three of them personally – fellow journalism inductee Bobby Ardoin, former Tulane basketball coach Perry Clark and former Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett.
“But I loved getting to know jockey Ray Sibille, who won 4,264 horse races in his 35-year career. And Frank Monica, who won three high school state football championships. And Baton Rouge native and LSU women’s basketball great Seimone Augustus. And former LSU wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson. And former McNeese State quarterback and CFL star Kerry Joseph. And especially former Grambling baseball coach and athletic director Wilbert Ellis, one of the finest people I’ve ever met.
“The strangest thing was people wanting my autograph. I wanted to say “Why?’ Instead, I profusely thanked them. Well, all but the guy who asked for my signature on the drive back Sunday afternoon.”
“Who was that?” the Skipster said.
“That was an Evangeline Parish sheriff’s deputy,” I said. “He needed me to sign the speeding ticket he issued me.”
“Maybe you could have gotten out of it saying you were Drew Brees,” Skip said.
“Nah,” I replied. “The deputy would have said, `I thought you’re on a family vacation in Japan.’”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com