Chapter 19
Sports, Folklore, and Music
In Louisiana
By Kelly Copeland and Tullie Patterson
What is Louisiana without its music? How can one talk about New Orleans without mentioning Voodoo? Is it still Louisiana without Mike the Tiger? Of course it is still Louisiana, but without these things, Louisiana would lack what has become known as the essence of Louisiana around the world. Louisiana is so rich in its culture that without it, it is just a piece of land. In this chapter, these topics are discussed. Check out the websites, they are really fun!
Sports-
Two of the things that are so typical of the South are crazed sports fans and nonsensical rivalries. Whether they are "homemade" sports or not, these sports produce an amount of excitement that is outrageous. Most of the sports events are held on the weekends so that even the hardest workers can participate or just watch. The weekend in America was changed by sports.
The "homemade" sports developed from of necessity. Hunting and fishing are two of these sports. They were first and foremost a way to put food on the table and clothes on the family, but they have since turned into a weekend pastime. Even on the Louisiana licensee plate, it says "Sportsman Paradise." There are annual fishing and hunting tournaments that bring even "the pros" to Louisiana. It is almost a way of telling someone’s income and status by which hunting club he or she is in or by where he or she fishes. Another "homemade" sport is cockfighting. Cockfighting is primarily located in the smaller southern towns of Louisiana, but big bucks are bet on each fight. This sport did not become illegal until 1988; efforts to make them illegal began in 1974.
More favorite sports of Louisiana include horseracing, billiards, and card playing. One of the largest horse racing facilities is located in Shreveport. Even bigger bucks are spent on horses racing each year. When horse racing started in Louisiana, most of the tracks were small, but, if one had enough money, New Orleans race tracks were the destination. This is yet another way to show status. Billiards and card playing appealed to mainly the upper class because large amounts of money were bet. This sport appealed to both men and woman. Want to know more about horse racing?
Most other sports in Louisiana were invented elsewhere. These include sports such as football, basketball, and cheerleading. Football has long since been known as Louisiana’s sport. (It just so happens that Louisiana is the nation’s largest export of football players.) This is because the social order is more distinct here. The hierarchy just works. The coaches are seen as the ultimate authority. Grambling State University’s Eddie Robinson made national news in 1997 when he retired after 57 years of coaching. Why does this matter? That was the biggest news in Louisiana, because football is the top priority. Maybe that is why the Sugar Bowl is held in New Orleans every year! Basketball is also a very important sport in Louisiana. Karl Malone, P. J. Brown, Robert Parish, Pete Maravich, and Shaquille O’Neal are some of the exports from Louisiana. The WNBA looks closely at Louisiana Tech for recruits because the Lady Techsters are nationally ranked every year. Some of the professional woman that graduated from Tech that play in the WNBA are Monica Maxwell, Teresa Weatherspoon, Vickie Johnson, Alisa Burras, Betty Lennox, and Tamicha Jackson.
Now, some people do not agree that cheerleading is a sport, but it is. Cheerleanding is huge in Louisiana. The Ouachita Parish High School Cheerleaders go the national championship every year. What is the number one thing that a little girls want to dress up as for Halloween? The answer is a cheerleader. This proves that it is a fixture in the south in general. What is a football game without cheerleaders? It just is not right. The cheerleading camps every summer get more and more intense as the teams get bigger and better. The ages of competitive cheerleaders gets younger and younger.
In 1975, the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans opened. It caused controversy everywhere. Over the years this structure has been the home of many major sporting events as well as conventions, trade shows, and other special events. In this auditorium it can seat up to 95, 000 people. Some of the major users of the Superdome are the New Orleans Saints and Tulane University. The nationally known college Sugar Bowl is held here every year. One of the former teams that played in the Superdome was the New Orleans Jazz, a professional men’s basketball team.
Link to Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
Louisiana Tech University Sports
Music-
Louisiana is famous for its music. The obvious types are cajun, jazz, and zydeco. Many country, gospel, and folk bands and styles come from Louisiana, but did you know that opera is a huge musical genre in Louisiana. The first opera performance in America was hosted in New Orleans in 1796. A New Orleans native, Louis Morean Gottschalk, was the first American concert artist to win recognition in Europe.
Cajun music is a type of music that has only two types of beats- a slow, gliding waltz and a fast schuffle. Cajun music has two fiddles and an accordion. In today’s Cajun bands, there are usually a drum, a guitar, a mandolin, and spoons.
Jazz music began in New Orleans in 1920; however, its most likely was present in the African American communities before then. Jazz express a broad reign of emotions in the African American groups.
Zydeco music is unique to Louisiana. It is a mixture of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and French-European melodies. Most experts say that the rhythms lie between Cajun music and modern rocks.
Country music came to Louisiana around 1948. Its popularity soared "Louisiana Hayride" (website) was started by KWKH of Shreveport. Two people who sang there were Elvis Presley and Hank Williams, Sr. Twenty artists that sang there are now in Country Music Hall of Fame (Website). Three of Louisiana’s most famous country singers are Tim McGraw (Start, LA), Andy Griggs (West Monroe, LA) and Kix Brooks (Shreveport, LA).
Gospel music was created in numerous African American churches. Each song has many variations, most of which include dancing and clapping. Gospel music is no longer a mainly black type of music. At the 2000 Folklife Festival, the gospel tent was overflowing with both black and white families. Everyone was clapping and dancing. Listen to gospel! (click on listen now on the webpage). Listen to radio stations! (there are a few stations in Louisiana). Folk music is influenced by both Spanish and African songs. Two familiar folk songs are "Frere Jacque" and "Clair de la Lune." Folk music came to Louisiana when the first settlers came. The folk music has expanded from the fais-do-dos and from the festivals in Acadiana. The music heard at Mardi Gras parades is usually folk music.
Want to know more about music?
Folklore-
Folklore in Louisiana is very different than that of any other state. One element of Louisiana folklore is Voodoo. Tourists in New Orleans crowd the Marie Laveau Museum so that they can get a glimpse into the dark side. Voodoo has its roots in Haiti. There is much debate about whether New Orleans is truly Voodoo. Some "experts" say that it is more Hoodoo than Voodoo. Hoodoo is more of a tributary of Voodoo, if you will.
New Orleans is the place to go if one wants to
experience Voodoo. Why is that? Voodoo has probably stayed in New Orleans
because it makes money. People do actually practice this religion in New
Orleans, though. It is easier there because the inhabitants are used to it, and
it does not bother them. In North Louisiana, Voodoo would not be nearly as
accepted because of religious differences. Now you are probably saying,
"What about the Catholics? They have religious differences, too!" The
Catholics in Haiti have lived with the Voodoo religion for a long while. About
80 per cent of the Haitian population practices Voodooism, so the Catholics
have had to get used to it.
Voodoo
Religious Tolerance
Conclusion-
Louisiana is rich in its culture. Its inhabitants
are lucky to be a part of such a wonderfully different type of history. With
the music, the sports, and the Voodoo, what more can a tourist ask for? There
is not much else to want! It does not matter if you are in North or South
Louisiana, you still feel like you are part of something magical and
attracting. It is Louisiana and its culture!