Snowflakes and our Governor

Of all the traveling I've done in nearly 20 years at NSU, Thursday's experiences were certainly among the most memorable.

It finished as we checked into the hotel amid a snow shower with temperatures dipping into the teens in metropolitan Indianapolis.

That was special. Not just seeing snow again -- Indianapolis is my birthplace. This is my first return as an adult to the city where I spent my first nine weeks many years ago in the brunt of winter.

The Demon basketball team flew in tonight in advance of Saturday afternoon's visit to Oxford, Ohio, on the Indiana border, where NSU will take on a very good Miami University team.

In another brush with my family history, Miami's last game was Wednesday night when it posted a very impressive 68-52 road win at Temple. That's where my dad went to college, classmates with the comedian (and then track star) Bill Cosby. Dad and Mom lived in a tiny apartment over a bar on Philly's famed Broad Street. He graduated in 3 1/2 years with a business degree.

Small world.

It sure seemed so Thursday afternoon as voice of the Demons Patrick Netherton and I sat in the Alexandria International Airport lobby awaiting our flight (the team flew out a little later in the day) and watched Gov. Bobby Jindal and his entourage enter the flight deck.

The security detail was at least a half dozen. As I picked up my chicken salad sandwich at the deli counter, I mentioned to the attendant that we didn't get to see that everyday. She said, well, if you're flying American, you'll see more of him.

Cha-ching!

The governor and his assistant were on our flight to Dallas. He was through security (c'mon, do you really think he and his assistant had to take their shoes off?) a little differently than the rest of us, but that's OK. He was right there in the holding area, working his Blackberry. He wasn't sequestered away from the two dozen other passengers waiting for the flight. His security lingered, but clearly, he was accessible.

Never Fear Netherton stepped forward. His father is a big Jindal supporter, and Patrick used that as his introduction to the affable governor.

I delayed my approach for a little while, so as not to intrude on Patrick. But as soon as it was apparent he wasn't off limits, I wasn't going to pass on the opportunity to visit with Louisiana's leader (and potentially, a future President; when he visited Natchitoches in October to speak at a fundraiser for Sen. Gerald Long in the Natchitoches Events Center banquet hall, musician Steve Wells struck up "Hail to the Chief" as Jindal took the podium, and that earned a grin and a quip from the fast-rising political star).

We immediately continued a discussion on NSU and the Demon basketball program. The governor was very impressed to learn about the tremendous graduation rate and academic successes. He was very interested to hear about the team's travel, and how the coaches ensure that the team visits historic and notable landmarks on road trips (stops have included the Oklahoma City Memorial, Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Hanauma Bay National Park and the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii). He was pleased to find out that Coach McConathy's recruiting philosophy is home-based, that nearly 80 percent of our roster year after year is from in-state. From his days as head of the University of Louisiana system, he was very familiar with the challenges that state universities face, and expressed his belief that recent logical in-state matchups like NSU-Grambling in football, Grambling-La. Tech in basketball, McNeese-ULL in football could become more commonplace.

He was pleasant, relaxed, quick to laugh and very focused on our conversation when there had to be a million other issues tracking in his mind. The captain of our American Airlines flight approached us to greet him, and apologized for interrupting our conversation. I told him that we didn't mind, that in this case HE was truly the most important person among us!

Not long afterward, the governor and his assistant, sans a security detail, were able to board the plane. I couldn't resist tempation. As we boarded, and made our way down the aisle past them on the commuter jet, I handed them a Demon basketball media guide opened to the first page, which lists the academic and athletic highlights of the first decade under Coach Mike.

"I wouldn't be much of a PR guy if I didn't give y'all this," I said. They laughed, and the governor dove into his sandwich, one that looked just like mine from an hour earlier.

He's not a "regular guy." Regardless of how you see his politics -- and he was off to San Antonio for a political event, then on to Houston (he bemoaned the fact that he would see little of the Alamo city save for a banquet hall) -- you have to admire his command of his surroundings and far-reaching grasp of complex issues and the simpler things in life. He is extraordinary.

I didn't delve into his professed passion for LSU football (too painful a topic this week), but I came away from our conversations at the Alexandria airport and then again at DFW with great appreciation for his people skills. Charisma is one quality some great leaders have. Connectivity with people from all walks of life is an even more rare attribute. He's got that, too.

For the 10 minutes or so we spent visiting in two airports, he did, indeed, seem quite the "regular guy." That's no small feat for a relatively young man who may someday, perhaps sooner than later, live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Doug Ireland, SID