NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Ed Daniels, the veteran sports journalist whose name became synonymous with Louisiana sports, was laid to rest Thursday following a funeral service at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church.
Daniels was a fixture in Louisiana sports for more than 40 years, and even outside the church, people were still telling stories about him. Though the atmosphere was solemn, many who attended Daniels’ funeral smiled as they reminisced about their memories of him.
“I remember us laughing, joking around and teasing each other,” said Les East, a freelance sports reporter for Crescent City Sports.
East said he and Daniels have covered sports in the area for more than 40 years and have worked together at times.
“What I remember most about Ed is his work ethic. He worked harder than anyone I knew and made sure he was there as much as possible for coverage,” East said.
“If you knew Ed as a person, you saw the real him — the man behind the microphone, so to speak. A family man, a man of faith, a man reaching out to others. How are you? Is there anything I can help you with?” said former Jefferson Parish Vicar Aaron Broussard.
Daniels suffered a heart attack in California last month while he was covering Saints training camp for WGNO-TV. His family was desperate to get him back to New Orleans. With the help of Saints owner Gayle Benson, Daniels was flown to his hometown so he could die surrounded by his loved ones.
“He touched so many lives, so when I got the call, I didn’t have to think about it. I immediately said ‘yes’. I didn’t think anything of it,” Benson said.
Benson joined other notable figures from Louisiana sports, politics and journalism in paying tribute to Daniels.
New Orleans Saints legend Archie Manning said Daniels’ legacy included covering local high school football through the weekly show he founded in the 1990s, “Friday Night Football.” Manning said Daniels’ dedication to high school sports will be missed.
“My grandson Archie has been really affected by this. If you think about it, there are hundreds of high school kids who got to know Ed. You can’t replace Ed. He was a hard worker. He was a serious guy. I would sometimes try to get him to relax if he got too serious, but we had fun,” Manning said.
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JT Curtis, longtime head football coach at John Curtis Christian School and co-host of Friday Night Football, said Daniels’ attention to detail is infectious.
“He was always the consummate professional. He wanted the show to be exactly how I wanted it to be at a Friday night game,” Curtis said.
Those close to Daniels say he treated and covered high school sports with the same level of care as professional teams, and that he would have appreciated someone like Cheryl Gilles.
“I’ve been watching him since I was a teenager. I’m 52 now, so I’ve been watching him for a long time,” Gills said.
Gilles doesn’t consider herself part of any particular scene; like most of us, she knew Daniels throughout his 33 years at Channel 26. She simply wanted to say goodbye to a man she’d depended on for consistent sports coverage. Gilles said the number of people who felt the same way was overwhelming.
“When you look at these people, you see nothing but love. And when you have that much love, it doesn’t matter if you have a connection to him or if you know him or not, it’s nothing but love,” Gilles said.
A Superdome spokesman said the dome will be lit up with white lights on Thursday night to remember Daniels’ life.
He is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.
If sports is a metaphor for life, Ed Daniels gave it his all on the field. Now he can finally rest.
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