Dan McDonald is a sports legend in Acadiana, but you probably don't know it. He's going into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, and he absolutely deserves it.

Not all stars stand on stage. For the last four decades, McDonald had a profound impact on the Louisiana sports scene from behind the curtain.

The Louisiana Sports Writers Association chose him as a recipient for the Distinguished Service Award for Sports Journalism, along with longtime Saints play-by-play man Jim Henderson, and the honor couldn't go to a better man.

He's already a member of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame for his work as the Sports Information Director for Northwestern State and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, and he received many other awards for his incredible writing for The Advertiser in Lafayette. McDonald touched almost every aspect of media in the Acadiana area, dating back to the '70s, and everything he touched turned into gold.

Sports has been a labor of love for McDonald for four decades. Even with all his success and achievements, he remains incomprehensibly humble.

"I feel like I've never had to truly work a day in my life because I loved what I did," McDonald said. "Going to work was never drudgery, going to work was a pleasure."

McDonald went from the college ranks to creating award winning pieces in print, now he still works as a freelance writer and he hosts "The Rage" (on ESPN 1420) after Ragin' Cajuns football games. In his expansive career, he revolutionized the way sports information departments work in college, captured the culture of Acadiana sports with his pen, and he even worked two different Olympic Games in Korea and Atlanta. Simply put, he lived the sports dream, and he's still living it.

The term "class act" is thrown around a lot, but Dan is the epitome of that compliment. Not only did he break ground in the sports world, he always did it with a smile and more grace than most humans possess in a lifetime.

Take some time to listen to his incredible sports journey. If you don't know about Dan McDonald, you need to do yourself a favor and get to know one of Acadiana's best men.

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