Every morning, assuming fiber is doing its job, Bossier City’s Russ Beeman looks down from the throne and shakes his head.
Ten years ago, Beeman didn’t think much about the consequences. He was extremely confident about his New Orleans Saints. Sure, the team was already five years removed from its magical night in South Florida, the place that produced the Saints’ first – and only – Super Bowl championship, but legend Drew Brees was still in his prime. That’s really the only thing Saints fans ever seemed to need.
When the 2014 NFL schedule came out, Beeman and his best friend, Dallas Cowboys fan Scott Turner locked in a trip to Arlington, Texas, to watch Shreveport’s Super Bowl in person.
Oh, but that wasn’t enough. There had to be a bet.
“Betting money was getting boring, so the year before we bet the winner got to shave the other’s beard and the loser had to keep it that way for two weeks,” Beeman said.
The Saints were victorious in 2013, and the pair did what any fan would do for 2014.
Johnny (left) and John-Wesley Reed of Minden are New Orleans Saints fans. Their hate for the Dallas franchise stems for the absence of the Saints on local TV because of the Cowboys.
Submitted photo
Raise the stakes.
Loser gets the other team’s logo tattooed on their body and winner gets to choose the location.
“The Saints and Drew completely crapped the bed that year,” Beeman said.
Well, that’s fitting.
“At the time of the tattoo (a blue star located on his thigh), I thought it was a good deal since no one will see it,” Beeman said. “Well, I then figured out why – every morning I have to look at it.”
The Saints lost 38-17 at Jerry World.
“That three-hour journey home was the longest car ride home I’ve ever had,” Beeman said.
The passion, wackiness and taunting surrounding Northwest Louisiana’s biggest NFL game isn’t just limited to the fans.
Heck, the man who will draw more attention than anyone for Sunday’s noon matchup at AT&T Stadium dives right into the Cowboys-Saints smack talk.
“I’ve had some friends reach out to me,” said Dak Prescott, who will make his first start since becoming the highest paid player in NFL history. “I’m there in the end zone and I sent them the (finger) emoji and said ‘Go Cowboys.’ They fired back with ‘Who Dat!’ and I wrote back ‘Who Dak!’
“Good playful stuff back and forth.”
In three career starts against New Orleans, the former Haughton star, who did not grow up a Saints fan, is 2-1. He’s completed 72 of 101 pass attempts for 710 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Prescott’s teammate and close friend, Ezekiel Elliott, will play his first home game since his return to the Cowboys after a one-year stint with New England. But he certainly remembers there’s a little extra juice in this contest.
“I expect great energy. Cowboys fans will show out,” the running back said. “We have a big game — Louisiana and Texas, I feel like there is a rivalry there. It’s going to be a good environment.”
Several factors, particularly in this area, have fueled the Cowboys-Saints rivalry.
For starters, the obvious: Geography.
Then consider the Saints’ brutal start to the first four decades of the franchise, combined with the Cowboys’ overwhelming success. TV coverage, or lack of it, incited things.
Local networks often had to choose if they’d show Dallas or New Orleans on any given Sunday. Sometimes, the fans had control, via online vote, who they wanted to watch.
“Twenty-five or so years ago, when I was a kid, they used to make you vote,” Minden’s John-Wesley Reed said. “With Shreveport in our ‘vote range,’ in Minden we would never win. It was always the Cowboys on Fox.
“I used to have to use my house phone to call my dad (Johnny Reed) at work and update him on the Saints score that I was keeping up with on AM radio. The hate began there and has only grown. Who Dat!”
So, besides a 2-0 start for the winner, what’s at stake closer to home Sunday?
“I don’t bet friends on this game anymore,” Cowboys fan Jeff Byrd of Shreveport said. “I did it once and lost.”
If Byrd wants some action on Sunday’s affair, Beeman might listen.
“The crappy part, after being branded no one will take the same bet with me,” Beeman said. “I have lots of room to upgrade my (1-) star rating.”