You won't believe this swimmer's family history, cher!
Okay, so I’m scrolling through the local news, sipping my chicory coffee, and what do I see? This story about Eric Ring, a senior at Pope John Paul II High, heading off to swim at Drury University. Now, that's nice, baby, always good to see our kids making moves. But then, it mentions his daddy, Paul Ring? Hold up, that name sounded familiar, like a ghost from the Superdome past, a memory from those old black and white pictures you see down at the Backstreet Cultural Museum. Turns out, Paul Ring was an *LSU All-American swimmer*. And not just any All-American, but the kind who broke records and made headlines back in the day.
This ain't just some kid going to college, where y'at? This is a whole legacy right here, a family tradition of excellence in the pool that stretches through generations. You know, we talk a lot about our musical families in New Orleans, the Marsalises, the Nevilles, the whole brass band lineage that gives this city its heartbeat. But to see that kind of deep-rooted talent in something like swimming, from Baton Rouge all the way down here, it just hits different. It reminds you that greatness, in whatever form, runs deep in the Louisiana soil, from the bayous to the lakeshores, baby.
* **A Swim Dynasty:** Paul Ring was a standout at LSU, setting records and leaving his mark. Now, his son, Eric, is taking his own strokes towards collegiate swimming.
* **Local Pride:** Eric Ring, coming out of Pope John Paul II in Slidell, represents the kind of talent we're cultivating right here in our own backyard, east of the Chef Menteur Highway.
* **Beyond the Stereotype:** It's a nice little reminder that while we're known for our food and music, there's a whole spectrum of sports and achievements happening all over our great state.
It makes you think about all the quiet legends walking among us, the folks whose stories aren't always shouted from the rooftops like a second line on a Sunday in the Tremé, but whose impact is just as real. That's New Orleans, baby — we bury our dead above ground and keep the music below.
Y'all, Des and the Morning Wire crew always got the real talk on stories like this. Catch 'em live, cher, at mornings.live.