Louisiana is held in pretty high regard by the passionate sports fans around Pittsburgh.
Paul Skenes. No more needs said about the Pirates’ second-year superstar, but you betcha, I’ll add the obligatory Livvy Dunne girlfriend reference. The couple turned heads in Omaha Monday as they cheered on their alma mater, LSU, at the College World Series.
Let’s get more Shreveport specific.
The ole Blonde Bomber, the wonder kid from Woodlawn High School, Terry Bradshaw.
Win a Super Bowl and you’re eternally in the hearts of your team’s fans. Brad won four. FOUR. Was MVP in two. Was and is, unapologetically, authentically, his own self. Pittsburghers like that. May not always like what he says, but the man’s earned the right, and the Yinzers respect and revere him.
You probably won’t recall an earlier Pittsburgh pro footballer with Shreveport roots – Buddy Parker. A Centenary star when the Gentlemen were playing with the big boys in the 1930s, Parker became a championship coach in the NFL with Bobby Layne and Detroit, then took over a moribund Steelers’ squad in 1957. He didn’t give Art Rooney an NFL title but he did bring the greatest level of success (51-48-6) to the franchise until … Bradshaw.
Bossier City’s Mike Almond, a record-breaker for A.L. Williams at Northwestern State, was a Steeler rookie in 1979 – the last player chosen in the NFL Draft. Last place a rookie receiver needed to go, with two future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide outs – Lynn Swann and John Stallworth – as the starters. Almond survived Jack Lambert’s menancing of all rookies, and made it to the final cut. There weren’t practice squads then in the NFL or he might have hung around and gotten a Super Bowl ring that season.
Shreveport’s Troy Edwards, after his sensational college career at Louisiana Tech, was the Steelers’ 1999 first round draft pick. It wasn’t a good fit – mistakes on both sides, Edwards has agreed – but he had some moments for the Black and Gold, five TDs and 61 receptions as a rookie, when he shared the team lead in catches with Hines Ward, and led In receiving yardage (714 in a run-focused offense).
Also performing in Three Rivers Stadium, but for the Pirates, Shreveporter Matt Alexander was part of the “We Are Family” 1979 World Series champions. “Matt the Scat” was primarily a productive pinch runner for manager Chuck Tanner, and is regarded as the best in MLB history in that role. From 1978-81, Alexander was a popular player in the Buccos’ clubhouse and among the fan base, and he played with flair, as reported in a 1979 Time magazine article.
“He developed baseball’s equivalent to spiking a football: Whenever he reached home plate, he would turn around and dance across it backward.
“Each time he earned applause from his teammates and an understanding smile from Tanner. ‘Just because you play baseball for a living doesn’t mean it has to be a job,’ he says. ‘You ought to have fun playing in the big leagues just like you did when you were a little kid, because the more you enjoy it, the better you play.’”
So the Steel City understandably has a soft spot for Shreveport. Last weekend it rekindled in a big way – two big ways, actually.
Sam Burns exploded on the U.S. Open field Friday with a scintillating 65 to surge to the top of the leaderboard, where he remained until that fateful 15th hole and a draconian USGA ruling late in Sunday’s final round. The Shreveport native and Calvary Baptist grad earned widespread praise for his grace talking about the calamity afterward, no doubt bitterly disappointed, in the media tent.
That 65 cannot be understated. It was 9.8 shots better than the average second-round score among 157 players, the highest differential anybody has posted over 18 holes in the U.S. Open since 2009. It was brilliant golf. Then two days later came even better sportsmanship.
As Sam soared up the leaderboard, his youth golf and LSU companion Philip Barbaree Jr. fought to stay on it for the weekend. PBJ played in his second Open, this time as a professional, navigating regional and sectional USGA qualifying to earn his spot.
Alongside, his wife Chloe, his caddie since last fall, so the newlyweds wouldn’t have to be separated as Philip played the PGA Americas circuit taking him to Canada, Mexico, and recently, South America. Chloe admittedly does not know golf. But she knows her pro and that matters more.
“He thinks that I bring a different perspective since I don’t have a golf background. I don’t play golf, so I see things that maybe others wouldn’t see and point it out to him, and it just works,” she said Saturday. “I love it. I always tell him I’m honored that he chooses me as his caddie because I know that’s a big role to fill.
“I think it just works because I’m there for moral support, whatever he needs …. Usually, the advice I give him is to not overthink and be confident because I know that he knows what he’s doing, and when he’s confident, he plays the best. So, I just say, be confident in your decisions. You know you best. Just play your own game and have fun.”
They did. Especially when he nailed a five-footer early Saturday on his 36th hole, making par on Oakmont Country Club’s second-toughest hole to earn a weekend stay as one of 66 survivors on what many experts called the world’s toughest major championship course.
Their embrace on the green, their unique triumph, captivated the golf world. Social media posts by media and fans drew over a million views in only a few hours.
The Barbarees felt the love. Fans were supportive, so much so that when PBJ prepared for his final putt Sunday on the 72nd hole, he pulled on a personalized “Barbaree Jr. 25” Pirates jersey as a token of thanks for the ‘Burgh’s backing, and for a weekend when his potential rose to the fore.
It wasn’t the last memorable thing he did on that green. After tapping in a gimme to finish, he turned to his adoring caddie, and shared a hug, and a kiss.
That, no doubt, was a U.S. Open first.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com