Stan Humphries

The young quarterback tossed footballs through tires in his backyard and dreamed of being an NFL star.

This wasn’t a far-fetched notion for Shreveport native Stan Humphries. In northern Louisiana, the parade to pro football at the position had already started.

“They were all around at the time,” Humphries said. “Terry Bradshaw, Joe Ferguson, David Woodley were from that time in northern Louisiana. Right down the road, there was Bert Jones, James “Shack” Harris and Doug Williams. It was a period in time when there were a lot of quarterbacks coming out."

Humphries carried on that tradition. A star at Southwood, he led the former Northeast Louisiana University to the I-AA national title in 1987. He spent 10 seasons in the NFL, notably leading his San Diego Chargers to the Super Bowl.

“You’d hang out in the backyard and pretend you were one of those on a Sunday afternoon,” Humphries said. “Having a chance to be one of those guys – now to have a chance to have your name beside them – it’s unbelievable.”

Because he grew up surrounded by a quarterback legacy, Humphries said he’s never really wondered why north Louisiana has been so fertile. It was simply a way of life.

Even his quarterbacks coach in college, former Neville star Bob Lane, had played professional football in the USFL.

“I was lucky enough to go college in Monroe where they opened it up,” Humphries said. “They threw the ball. That’s why I was able to step into the next level.”

The role models weren’t just names on bubblegum cards for Humphries either.

“Joe Ferguson’s parents lived around the corner from my parents,” Humphries said. “He had come into town one summer to work out. I got invited to go work out with him one day – it was unbelievable.”

Still in high school, Humphries found himself playing pitch-and-catch with NFL players like Ferguson, Pat Tilley, MikeBarber, Larry Anderson and Roger Carr.

“All these unbelievable professional football players of this time,” Humphries said, “and I was out there throwing the football with them.”

Humphries created his own legacy, one of toughness and success. The Chargers won more than 60 percent of the games he started in a six-year stretch. He was capable of producing big numbers, but Humphries didn’t care about statistics.

Victories were his prime concern.

“It’s all about, to me, winning football games,” Humphries said. “It wasn’t about commercials and Pro Bowls. It was about winning football games – fighting with your buddies.”

Cult Heroes: Thomas Morstead and Chris Reis

Missing from the 2010 offseason for the New Orleans Saints?


Well, actually being off. And honestly, why would you WANT to flip the switch after you win a Super Bowl -- particularly in a success-starved NFL region like the one New Orleans services.


Certainly, it's not unusual to see the megastars like MVP Drew Brees and Jeremy Shockey making high-profile appearances all the way up until training camp eve.


But witness the trickle-down effect too for the game's flashpoint cult heroes. Likeable guys like Thomas Morstead and Chris Reis, who came up on the business ends of the pivotal onside kick to start the second half of Super Bowl XVI, have taken the title to the people with a personal touch.

There's Morstead, shocking the world with the prescribed Holy Roller toward the unsuspecting Colts. There's Reis, the long-haired special teams ace, scrambling in the bottom of the pile and coming up with the ball. A few months ago, they were relatively anonymous role players.

Now these willing ambassadors are part of Saints lore.


"It's kind of an overnight sensation," Reis says on an April night while signing freebie autographs at Jaimie's Sports Cards of Louisiana in Monroe. "I went from a nobody to now; people recognize me. Because of my hair, they're making me on the street. It's humbling to be part of something so big, so great and so great for the city. It's been a blessing. Hopefully we can continue our winning ways."


It ain’t easy for a punter to show up on the highlight DVD. Yet who (dat) among us will ever forget the sight of Morstead jumping and signaling that Reis had recovered his onside offering.


"For me personally, my whole rookie season was special," Morstead says during a pause at the same Monroe event. "From getting drafted to positive moments where I helped influence the game, it was really a neat feeling for me."

Morstead's aunt and uncle, along with five cousins, actually live in Monroe. When visiting their home, he sometimes booms 60-yard punts down the street to the amazement of locals.

Keeping his leg under wraps back home in Texas, he blends in pretty well. Back in the Bayou State, it's another story. "It's crazy," Morstead says. "Whenever I come back ANYWHERE in Louisiana, everybody's still so high about it. It's been pretty cool. I was out in Monroe last night, and people were buying me drinks. It's pretty crazy."

At least Morstead was a recent draft pick with modest name recognition. Reis reminds you of Steve Gleason, another long-haired special teams demon from a few years back. Listed as a safety on the roster, the Georgia Tech product was originally signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2006. In 2007, he was toiling in NFL Europe for the Cologne Centurions.

Typically, only the diehards get this deep into roster recognition, but Super Bowls and super-charged moments change that. These days, folks line up to meet ‘em when given the chance.


"It's wonderful," Reis says. "You have fans coming up to you and saying 'Thank you.' These fans aren't looking for anything from us. They're just thankful that we were able to do something so great. We won, but it felt like we won for the city. To be able to give back to the fans is just awesome."


Says Morstead: "People are always trying to get stuff signed or take pictures. It doesn't get old. To me it doesn't. I think it's cool. These fans have been living and dying with this team. Well, they've dying for a long time. Living with them now, it's cool to be a part of it."


They get it. Morstead isn't too far removed from lean years of his own at SMU.


"I went 1-11 my junior year and 1-11 my senior year in college," Morstead says. "To go from that, -- to winning the Super Bowl?"


Believe me, we understand.

And thanks.