Cowboy Mouth’s drummer and lead singer Fred LeBlanc’s heart skipped a beat when he watched the recent NFC Championship football game.
“I was watching it with my girlfriend while on a text thread with the rest of the band and crew,” said the homegrown rock star. “At first, my reaction was that it was so incredulous that I just could not believe it. Then, as it sunk in a little more, I got angrier and angrier. Not only was I incensed that there was no flag on the play, it was such a blatant slap in the face to the team and to the fans, who are the best sports fans in all of the world.
“As time passed, my anger turned to disgust at the whole thing,” he said of the referees’ failure to call a rudimentary pass interference penalty against the Los Angeles Rams leading to their 26-23 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints. “Not one, but two refs were staring straight at a very blatant pass interference in the last seconds of a major playoff game. Are you going to honestly tell me that they both didn’t see it? Give me a break!”
Instead of watching the Rams battle the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LIII, LeBlanc will be performing this Sunday, Feb. 3, at Boycott Bowl, taking place on Fulton Street, from Girod to Lafayette streets, from 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
The Who Dat Nation’s commiserative alternative is billed as “a music festival that celebrates our culture and benefits New Orleans musicians, chefs, bartenders and the entire service industry rather than the NFL. It will provide us with an opportunity to do something to celebrate our team, our city and our fans that were wrongfully denied on Sunday, Jan. 20.”
LeBlanc is scheduled to perform along with Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs, CHOPPA, Dash Rip Rock, Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., 5th Ward Weebie, Flow Tribe, Partners-N-Crime and The Big EZ Band, Ricky B, Khris Royal & Dark Matter, Kermit Ruffins and The Vettes.
Special guest Whistle Monsta will emcee the event.
General admission tickets are $10, VIP tickets are $50 (with access to the Aprés Lounge’s VIP Lounge, 608 Fulton St.), and organizers said all net proceeds will be donated to the New Orleans Recreation Development Foundation to coach and equip the next generation of New Orleans champions.
Already, more than $46,500 has been raised by 1,555 people on the event’s Show Sparker crowdfunding page.
There are also several corporate sponsorship opportunities available at the $5,000 Boycott Believer, $10,000 Boycott Booster and $25,000 Boycott Baller levels.
LeBlanc said he remembers getting into a percussive groove watching the NFC game, hoping the Saints would snare a victory.
“The Saints in Atlanta for the Super Bowl? I wasn’t going to miss it! I was actually hoping that the band would get some sort of a tailgate show or something connected to the game just to add a little Cowboy Mouth frenzy to the whole equation. You know, we do know how to stir up some energy… But instead of a great game played between two titans of the NFL, it’s just gonna be another episode of ‘Who-Gets-To-Be-Brady’s-Bitch-This-Year.’ As far as I’m concerned… been there, done that.”
LeBlanc isn’t alone in his syncopated assessment. Many believe the Saints were robbed of their chance to reach the football season’s ultimate crescendo. This Sunday, a growing number of local bars and restaurants will refuse to broadcast the game and instead rebroadcast Super Bowl XLIV, when the Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. There’s even some up-tempo buzz that Boycott Bowl will be televised and live streamed for disgruntled fans around the globe.
LeBlanc said he wanted to be involved from the start. “There were rumors swirling around the internet almost from the end of the game,” he said. “I kept my ears open.”
So did tens of thousands of Facebook fans. As of Thursday afternoon, 14,332 expressed they were attending Boycott Bowl. Those interested in the event totaled 56,585. Boycott Bowl organizers are recommending those who want to be a part of the family-friendly block party to buy their tickets in advance.
There will be food and drinks for sale at Boycott Bowl, and you can buy a $25 commemorative T-shirt here.
With a note of sarcasm, LeBlanc said he hopes the empathetic event will resonate with the NFL. “Ya know, I thought it was really cute the way the NFL thought we would all just sit there and take it. You’d have thought they would’ve learned some lessons about fan appreciation over the years. But apparently, that’s not the case. Anybody with half a brain knows what the Saints mean to the Crescent City. Sure, in the long run, it’s just a damn football game and God knows there are many bigger problems in the world. But, the relationship between the Saints and its fans is a very multifaceted give-and-take one that goes back a long time. New Orleans is one of – if not the – largest NFL TV market left in the country, which is where the real money is. It would be wise for the NFL not to take us fans or our team for granted. Tread lightly. We are many, and we are angry.”
Even though the Saints won’t be participating in The Super Bowl, LeBlanc said he’s looking forward to Sunday.
“Playing music in the greatest city in the entire world,” he said. “Is there anything better?”
