In sports exile, Legion baseball offers outdoor excursion

By Ron Brocato
Sports Editor

What a summer!  And it’s just the beginning.

As it was 15 years ago in the months following a certain hurricane that devastated the area, this COVID-19 thing has taken its toll on the lives of thousands. 

And, for us sports enthusiasts who want to separate ourselves from the torrent of national discontent through the escape route sports presents, that’s getting to be difficult.

I thought I saw a light when American Legion director Sid Parfait opened a season with a smaller fingerprint a few weeks ago. As we remain, the state was in Phase 2 of the recovery from a global virus that not only killed tens of thousands but also the spring sports programs.

I was excited. I attended the opening-day game at John Ryan Stadium between Retif Oil (Jesuit) and Refuel (Archbishop Shaw). I was delighted to find the grandstand a bit more than half filled with excited spectators. Baseball was back for them, and their joy was infectious.

Once again, the fighting spirit of a city that yields to no setback lived on. 

As it was in the early fall of 2005, sports in New Orleans rebounded with the playing of the state’s longest continuous football rivalry between Holy Cross and Jesuit. 

In ’05, the stands at Yenni Stadium were packed despite the fact many of us had lost our homes and were living elsewhere. Sports – and football in particular – was alive and recovering from this momentary shock.

And so it was with Legion ball this season. The spectators stood and belted out “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the half-inning stretch. They even tried to form the letters in a sing-along when the PA played “YMCA.” All seemed well again.

Days later, the rainy season set in. Games had to be either postponed or canceled in this shortened season. But still, the league soldiers on.

So, in this summer of discontent and detours, when there is little positive news to report, it’s difficult to get a handle on reality. 

Reading the Sunday newspaper these days is a 10-minute journey of disheartening news. I hardly spend more than four minutes skimming through mostly mundane news in the four-page sports section. Never influenced by others’ opinions, I bypass the editorial pages completely.

Looking ahead

I have much to do, however, in preparation for the 2020-21 sports season, assuming there will be one. 

No one knows for sure what’s going to happen to high school sports. We can’t move on to Phase 3 of the recovery if the virus continues to spread to our young people. But this is New Orleans, and Orleanians of all ages rarely let a potential catastrophe get in the way of a good party. 

There is much conjecture, more so than alternatives, as to what may happen in the fall. It was suggested that flipping football and basketball seasons would make it easier to control the virus. 

To paraphrase LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine, that “won’t happen.” But neither can Bonine make a determination on how, when or if the sports seasons will begin on time.

Yes, this is the summer of uncertainty, with little to report.

But I do stay busy with one eye on the future. I’m updating my football records, which date back to 1895, to include smaller area schools. As of now, the records are complete through 1976. The updates include team and individual stats that have survived decades of outstanding (and now inadequate) coverage.

Last week, Nico Van Thyn, a longtime sportswriter and friend from the Shreveport area, asked me to edit his state track and field records. He’s assembled the best times and distances for every state championship meet held since 1914. I’m happy to accommodate him.

There is still an occasional Legion game when weather permits. I just hope my KN95 mask is rated to block Saharan dust.

Once a week, four of us current and former scribes, and a few coaches, meet at hall of famer Bill Bumgarner’s house for lunch. We sit on his large covered deck – separated by social distance – to dine on pick-up sandwiches and discuss how the business of sports has changed. Then, having had our “fix” of each other, we move on.

I’m also adding plaques for the New Orleans Prep Sports Hall of Fame at Ye Olde College Inn to include 24 new honorees. Among them will be Leonard Fournette, Earl Schneider, Jack Counce, Cyril Grayson, Jim Bickford, Miles Clements, Johnny Owen, Sacred Heart Brother Martin Hernandez, coaches Glenn Dyer and Jay Jay Juan, and volleyball honorees Debbie Candilora, Katie Kampen, Kristen Nuss and Ellie Holzman. 

So, as the days continue to creep by with little to do during what should have been another summer of fun and sun, I stay busy. I just avoid reading and watching the unraveling of the world I love.

Ron Brocato can be reached at [email protected].