This statue of two armadillos dancing the Cotton-Eyed Joe with a Lone Star beer was everywhere back in the mid-to-late seventies in Texas. I remember the Cotton-Eyed Joe was danced at every wedding and picnic back then. It was cool as a kid because you got to yell “Bullshit!” There are some interesting connections with San Antonio. The Germans who settled in South and Central Texas gave us this dance along with a LOT of breweries, including Lone Star. When the city hosted the 68 Hemisfair, Lone Star Brewery built a special pavilion for the event. After the fair, the pavilion lived on as a bar (and museum?) near the Convention Center, where classic Iceman-era Spurs played. People used to get wasted on twenty five cent beers at the pavilion before going to the games. The drunk Baseline Bums were known as the most obnoxious fans in basketball. They’d pour beer and throw guacamole on the opposing team. At some point in the game, there would be a guy who was known as “Gene Gene the Dancing Machine” who would get up and dance in the stands when they played the Cotton-Eyed Joe. #armadillos #cottoneyedjoe #lonestarbeer #hemisfair #sanantoniospurs #baselinebums #sanantoniohistory
