AmBASSador--All About the Classic Fishing Event

March 10, 2009

My all-time favorite story, still today, is the excavation of the 1,000-year-old Indian canoe along the Red River I covered back in the mid-80s.

Going from then to now, the Red River is currently in the news with Shreveport-Bossier City's lure of the Bassmaster Classic. And in between does anyone remember “Big Red by ‘80?” The river did finally become navigable and many fishermen went through the locks and dams to catch their limit this past weekend. I remember covering the unveiling of the first lock and dam in Marksville, too, with Sen. J. Bennett Johnston saying, “One down, four to go!”

Attending the Classic has been awesome. Events were free and crowds were everywhere. The Shreveport Convention Center was alive; Municipal Auditorium was utilized for a red carpet party that featured a welcome by James Burton. We beat attendance in New Orleans. Other hosts have been Chicago and Pittsburgh.

The Zac Brown Band performed Saturday, but that reality show exterminator dude was featured on Sunday; it seems like we could have found someone better to open the event.

I wanted to be an AmBASSador and still consider myself one, but the Tourist Bureau never contacted me for that, a sign for my business or the Facebook page it was supposedly creating. I heard their bag for VIPs had a measuring cup, note pad, one strand of Mardi Gras beads and a map in it until someone helped add items like Cajun recipes, restaurant coupons and the Junior League cookbook. The eight stations weren’t manned properly either, apparently, because the night of the Media Party no one was hostessing.

I was pulling for four fishermen: Edwin Evers because my father-in-law ran into him way back when he was living out of a camper and fishing on the Red and they actually fished together; Byron Velvick because he was the “Bachelor;” Kevin VanDam (KVD) because of his name and the first woman to compete, the tiny Kim Bain-Moore. Fish don’t know if they are being caught by a man or woman!

I am now a fan of Rick Morris because he seemed like an LSU fan on stage; Bryan Schmidt because he has quotes on his boat; Bobby Lane because he confirmed that birds up above mean fish can be caught below; Kenyon Hill from Norman, Okla., because of his fondness of fishing for his terminally ill father; and Gary Klein for his 27 attempts to win the Classic. I also cheered Louisiana’s lone participant, the “Hack Attack.”

I liked last year’s winner, Alton Jones, for the fact that he signed an autograph for someone, who later sent him a letter detailing how he gave the hat to a dying man, who showed it to everyone in the hospital. It brought a lot of joy to him in his last days and put a smile on his face, making a difference. Jones said it was a little thing that ended up being significant and that is what he’ll remember from his championship reign.

I’ll remember everything; it’s way better than seeing it on TV. I met Hank Parker, Bill Dance and Jimmy Houston. The founder of the tournament was a hoot, saying Parker was gay (LOL). All of the women swoon for him.

I tried to get the LSU AgCenter in the ESPN news since our research station is the closest to the river of any in four states. Mary Ann Tice with the Shreveport Sports Authority said they were talking about that in her suite. So maybe next time! I bet they return.