Shreveport’s Surprising Super Bowl Connection

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With the AFC & NFC Championships in the books, Super Bowl LVIII is now set.  By the way, in case you don't read the Roman Numeral system the NFL so pretentiously insists on using, that's Super Bowl 58.  I had to look it up.

But I digress... The Kansas City Chiefs will face the San Fransisco 49ers on Sunday, February 11th in Las Vegas, Nevada.  And with that lineup, it does two things.  One, it should dispel the myth about the Super Bowl logo predicting the teams, and even the winner.  If you haven't heard about it, you can read about it HERE.

The other thing this matchup brings is a pretty cool Shreveport connection.  And it starts with San Fransisco quarterback Brock Purdy.  Purdy's story is pretty incredible in itself.

Brock Purdy Brief History

Purdy, an Arizona native, played high-school football for Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona, then went on to play college ball at Iowa State.  He had a fine college career, even leading the Big 12 with a 71.7 percent completion percentage.  But his college career wouldn't be called stellar by any definition.

In fact, Purdy was drafted by the San Fransisco 49er's as the 262nd overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.  That's the final pick in the draft.... overall... last. Needless to say, expectations probably weren't very high.  This led to Purdy being dubbed "Mr. Irrelavent."   But everyone loves an underdog story.

Purdy joined the Niners as the third string quarterback, behind Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.  But after injuries to both of them... Purdy made the best of his chance, and here we are one year later, with Purdy leading his team into the Super Bowl.  Brock Purdy has made his parents very proud.  And here's where the Shreveport connection comes in.

Shreveport Connection to Super Bowl LVIII

Purdy, seen in the above picture, is hugging his dad after the 49ers beat Green Bay to advance to the NFC Championship game.  His dad is Shawn Purdy.  You might not have heard his name before, but Shawn Purdy was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1987.

Although he never made the majors, he played in the minor leagues for 8 years from 1991-1998, including two years in Shreveport with the Captains.  The elder Purdy was on the mound for the Captains in 1995 & 1996. From Shreveport, he moved up to AAA ball and played in Phoenix, then Richmond.  Pretty cool....