For the few and the proud who are coming to Shreveport for the I-Bowl, I want to offer my assistance in any way necessary. I know Shreveport isn’t a destination city and I know the I-Bowl isn’t what most of us hoped for but it is a bowl and I think Temple is pretty good this year. And on the bright side, you don’t have to say you’re going to the weed eater bowl (former sponsor). In case you don’t know, there is an interesting story behind the Walk-Ons sponsor which relates to college hoops:
https://walk-ons.com/story.
Here is a little background on Shreveport:
Shreveport is in the northwest corner of the state, about ten miles from the Texas border, and much closer to Dallas (180 miles) than Baton Rouge or New Orleans. Shreveport is located on one side of the Red River and Bossier City sits on the other side. Bossier City is home to Barksdale Air Force Base where the Eighth Air Force is headquartered (mostly B52s). During the Civil War, Shreveport was a Confederate stronghold and briefly became the Confederate capital after Robert E. Lee’s surrender. Civil War battles were fought all over this area (Vicksburg, Mansfield).
In 1933, Bonnie and Clyde were killed just down the road
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-c...nnie-and-clyde
Shreveport has a rich musical history and the Louisiana Hayride (held at Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium and broadcast on KWKH radio) was where many country music acts got their start (Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Johnny Horton, Floyd Cramer, Slim Whitman, etc.).
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nahHWEOpCvo In 1954, Elvis Presley (who was 19 yo) made his debut at the Louisiana Hayride
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bLaPnpjw-pc.
Hirsch Coliseum, the domed venue right next to Independence Stadium, was built a long time ago and has hosted concerts, basketball games, rodeos, etc for many years. One of my favorite trivia questions relates to this venue: In 1957, a ten year old boy from a tiny town in East Texas (close to Shreveport) was at a Lawrence Welk concert with his parents at the Hirsch. Eight years later he returned to see a rock band there. Many years after that, the band he went to see was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The boy went on to himself become a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of one of the greatest bands of all time. He gave the induction speech for the first band. Who was the boy and who were the bands? Answer:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7ioQa26gDc4&t=9s
Shreveport has had its share of prominent athletes and a plethora of quarterbacks:
Terry Bradshaw (Steelers)
Joe Ferguson (Bills)
David Woodley (super bowl QB Dolphins)
Stan Humphries (Chargers)
Bert Jones (Colts) grew up right down the road in Ruston
Doug Williams (Redskins) played at Grambling (by Ruston)
And although he is not from here, Doug Pederson (Eagles coach) was the head coach of tiny Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport from 2005-2008 (I know that’s hard to believe).
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Robert Parish (Celtics)
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Hal Sutton
David Toms
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A couple of things you may not know about Bradshaw. In high school, he was the national record holder in the javelin (
https://www.golfchannel.com/video/fe...rprising-sport). This was what he was known for. When he went to Louisiana Tech and played football, he was initially the backup QB to this guy lol (
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yFlr19bhncQ).
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Here is a list of some of the casinos and restaurants around town:
Casinos:
https://www.caesars.com/horseshoe-bo...tm_content=bar
https://www.eldoradoshreveport.com
https://www.samstownshreveport.com
https://www.margaritavillebossiercity.com
Restaurants:
https://www.superiorssteakhouse.com
http://www.2johnsrestaurant.com
https://www.caesars.com/horseshoe-bo...e#.XAk5lopMGhB
https://www.eldoradoshreveport.com/v...s/the-vintage/
http://www.chiantirestaurant.net
https://m.facebook.com/The-Mabry-House-254787381197993/
http://bellafresca.com
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https://walk-ons.com/food
http://www.silverstarsmokehouse.com
https://m.facebook.com/Country-Taver...3407878692162/
https://m.facebook.com/silverstargrille/
http://marilynns-place.com
https://www.athenashreveport.com
http://cushsgrocery.com
https://www.frankslakitchen.com
https://elcaboverde.com
https://www.superiorgrill.com
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https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...Louisiana.html
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https://m.facebook.com/fairfieldgrocery6955
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http://www.greatraftbrewing.com
https://m.facebook.com/RedRiverBeer
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http://www.rwnaf.org
My personal favorites would be:
Breakfast—Strawn’s on Youree. Nothing healthy here but one of the local favorites
Lunch—For a high end lunch, try superior steakhouse. If you’re still here Friday, go to 2Johns right across the Red River (I know the owner so I can help you here). Superior Grill (Mexican food) is the most popular restaurant in town and is great for lunch or dinner—try to go early to avoid the wait. You can also eat late there so it would be a fun place to go after the game. One word of caution—the generic frozen margaritas come out of a machine and are killers. I prefer their top shelf.
Walk-Ons is a sports bar and is quite popular.
Fairfield grocery and Cush’s grocery are both very good. Cush’s almost always has gumbo.
Dinner:
There are 2 high end casino restaurants that are good—Jack Binion’s Steakhouse at the Horseshoe and The Vintage at the El Dorado.
I prefer:
2Johns has good food as does the Superior Steakhouse. The latter is a bigger venue with a fabulous bar, wine selection, cigar bar, etc.
The food at Bella Fresca is good.
Chianti’s is a popular Italian restaurant.
Frank’s Louisiana Kitchen and El Cabo Verde are less expensive and popular and in the south part of town.
Expect to drop some coin at some of these so check out their websites/menu.
Feel free to message me if you have questions! Hope some of you can make it!