Photo credit: Andrew Greenstein
LSU’s baseball players may have won college baseball’s national championship, and LSU’s baseball fans in Omaha may have annihilated the competition in the Jello Shot Challenge at Rocco’s Pizza and Cantina across the street from Charles Schwab Field.
But residents at a Baton Rouge retirement community some 900 miles away captured the hearts of America throughout the tournament.
While LSU’s rabid fans were inhaling Jello shots by the thousands, racking up thousands of dollars for the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank in the process ($52,390, to be precise), St. James Place retirement community decided to hold its own Jello Shot Challenge in tribute to Rocco’s.
All Jello shots were free, but $5 for every shot consumed would be donated to the food bank; and the competition got a little feisty.
“After they taught us how to do Jello shots, all of our trash talking and all of our bravado, it actually turned into something incredible,” said resident Kathleen Gaudet.
Rocco’s shared St. James Place’s story, and it soon went viral, and that gave Tonya Dixon, the director of active lifestyles, an idea.
“I was thinking, there’s no way I can have a Rocco’s inspired party without their pizza,” said Dixon. “It wouldn’t be right with Dominos.”
(Editor’s note: Dominos makes fine pizzas; they simply would not have fit with the theme of this party.)
The challenge, of course, is actually getting the pizzas, as perishable as they are, safely from Omaha to Baton Rouge.
So Dixon reached out to Rocco’s management; and despite the restaurant being completely slammed during the College World Series, let’s just say she didn’t have to ask them twice to help out.
“Within six hours, he had partnered with Omaha Steaks, and the food was being frozen at that point,” says Dixon.
Omaha Steaks provided hot dogs and hamburgers to replicate the ballpark experience; and with the help of Circa Las Vegas, all the food was packed in dry ice and shipped via UPS from Omaha to Baton Rouge, arriving well in time for Sunday afternoon’s game, which ended up being the decisive game.
While there were certainly many watch parties throughout Baton Rouge Sunday, none were as special as the one at St. James Place.
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“We had relatives that were planning a visit to come see us anyway,” says Gaudet. “And we told them what we found this out, we said, ‘Come on down, we’ve got a party that you will not imagine!'”
Gaudet’s husband, Al, cannot thank Rocco’s, Omaha Steaks and Circa enough for everything they did to make the event as special as it was.
“This is really great,” says Al Gaudet. “At least they appreciate the enthusiasm we have here for the Tigers.”
Deanna Dyson-Ashworth, 87, was decked out in full LSU regalia to cheer her Tigers on to victory.
“We are very appreciative of Omaha,” says Dyson-Ashworth, “how they receive us crazy Louisiana people.”
Dick Wager, CEO of St. James Place, says Rocco’s went above and beyond the call of duty to make everyone’s day.
“We can’t be in Omaha, so calling them up and getting them involved was like bringing Omaha here,” says Wager. “For them to pay attention to this and do the work, figure out creative ways — I mean, it’s not like they don’t have a lot going on in Omaha, yet they still paid attention to us.”
Of course, no LSU party would be complete without Mike the Tiger present — and, sure enough, there he was, decked out in his baseball jersey, hamming it up with the residents as they were enjoying their Rocco’s pizza and Omaha Steaks hot dogs and hamburgers.
And, of course, Jello shots.
“We’re well aware of the health benefits of Jello shots,” says Al Gaudet, “and so we want to eat healthy.”
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