Canal Street Chronicles
Hello Who Dat Nation!!
Hello, Who Dat Nation and CSC faithful! My name is Gary Walker, and I am so excited to join Canal Street Chronicles as a contributing writer. I am a lifelong New Orleans Saints fan, and I have always wanted the chance to take all of the time I spend thinking about the Saints and apply it to something a little more... productive.
I was a sports fan from a young age. Growing up in Lebanon, Ohio, hockey was my first love. I’d collect books on the NHL, ask my parents to take me to hockey games as much as possible, watched The Mighty Ducks movies on repeat and was always playing hockey in the house and in the street. I was a short drive from the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and happened to be in Ohio right when the Columbus Blue Jackets were founded.
Hockey was my gateway to sports, but I quickly fell in love with football and my attention turned from ice to turf. My dad grew up in West Virginia a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, played football in high school, and eventually played for NAPS before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. So, I frequented local high school games, going to see Lebanon High play teams in the Cincinnati area. I saw Elder High School play in the historic “Pit”. I went to see the Bengals when they played the Steelers. I watched Navy football on Saturdays and heard all about Jim Tressel’s amazing Ohio State Buckeyes.
Reading this, you’d probably think today I would be a diehard Bengals, Buckeyes, and Blue Jackets fan. But right as my love for hockey reached its peak, my love for Ohio sports was growing, and I had just gotten my first taste of Cincinnati chili, everything changed.
At 7 years old, we moved about as far away from hockey country, buckeyes, and Skyline Chili as you could get.
We were moving to Louisiana.
We moved to Natchitoches, best known for its cobblestone streets, the Christmas festival on the Cane River, meat pies, and being the filming site of Steel Magnolias.
To say it was a culture shock would be an understatement. The food was spicier, the churches were Catholic, the accents were a lot more interesting, and Nick Saban was held in much higher regard than Jim Tressel.
Little did I know that moving to this charming little town in North Louisiana would begin a lifelong fandom. I used to visit a little antique shop in downtown Natchitoches with my mom, filled with the typical fare you’d find at any flea market. Old memorabilia, cups and plates, and household items galore. But on the second floor of that antique shop was a football helmet I’d never seen before. Black and Gold, with a large floral shape I’d soon come to know as a Fleur-De-Lis. It was love at first sight.
Soon I wanted to know everything about the team that wore that helmet. It was 2004, and...
