Mr. Underappreciated

Each year, the sports staff talks about doing the 10 most influential sports figures in Shreveport-Bossier City. Up near the top of the list are the big names like Hal Sutton, David Toms, Dan Wildfong, Scott Muscutt, Johnny Booty, etc.

But one who gets overlooked in the matter is Matt Brown from Sportspectrum. What he does on an yearly basis is truly remarkable. His part as race director for virtually every premier triathlon or 10K/5K in the area is instrumental.

The Firecracker 5K held on Wednesday had 3,000 participants running, jogging, walking or strolling through south Highlands.

The residents near Mall St. Vincent probably didn't care for the patriotic music blaring over the sound system at 7 a.m., or the 5-minute rap-rap-rap-rap of the enormous chain of firecrackers at 8 a.m. to start the race, but it can be overlooked for the tremendous impact the race has for the running community.

His big events like the River Cities Triathlon and the Red River Triathlon draw competitors from across the South. The River Cities is one of the largest, if not the largest, in the South.

This area's athletic reach would look much different if not for Matt.