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Prestige wars: Does Texas or Louisiana have greater claim to top billing?
By Carol Christian | November 4, 2014
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Photo By Kin Man Hui, Michael DeMocker/Associated Press
On Nov. 5, 1806, when U.S. and Spanish military commanders signed an agreement declaring disputed territory between Texas and Louisiana to be "neutral ground," setting up a friendly border rivalry that continues to this day.
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Photo By The History PressBest Breakfast FoodTexas: Breakfast tacos
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Photo By MEL EVANS/APBest Breakfast FoodLouisiana: Cafe du Monde beignets
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Photo By Photo by Jim Boud/Getty ImagesBest Breakfast FoodWinner: Texas!On a one-to-one level, it might be hard to beat those Cafe du Monde beignets, but great breakfast tacos can be found in kitchens and cafes all the way from El Paso to Orange in a variety of flavors configurations.
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Photo By Kimberley ParkHottest Food CityTexas: Houston
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Photo By TableauHottest Food CityLouisiana: New Orleans
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Photo By Patrick Semansky/FREHottest Food CityWinner: LouisianaThere's no shame in losing to the Crescent City, one of the best food communities in the world thanks to its confluence of cultures and flavors.
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Photo By Getty ImagesSports Claims to FameTexas: Five Super Bowls, eight NBA titles, one Stanley Cup, two MLS titles, these cheerleaders.
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Photo By Bill Haber/Associated PressSports Claim to FameLouisiana: One Super Bowl (won by a quarterback who grew up in Texas)
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Photo By ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty ImagesSports Claim to FameWinner: Texas !The entire state of Louisiana has one professional sports championship. Tim Duncan has five alone.
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Photo By LM Otero/Associated PressSignature EventTexas: The State Fair of Texas
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Photo By Sean Gardner/Getty ImagesSignature EventLouisiana: Mardi Gras
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Photo By Gerald Herbert/Associated PressSignature EventWinner: Louisiana!Sure, Texans love our state fair Fletcher's Corny Dogs and if you plan on messing with Big Tex, you better plan on messing with all of us. But Mardi Gras in New Orleans may be the best party on the planet.
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Political CorruptionTexas: Billy Sol Estes, Dan Morales, Tom DeLay (pictured) and of course, Gov. Rick Perry is now under indictment.
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Photo By Gerald Herbert/STFPolitical CorruptionLouisiana: A long, glorious history, most recently highlighted by former NOLA mayor Ray Nagin's current prison stint.
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Photo By Gerald Herbert/STFPolitical CorruptionWinner: Texas (least corrupt)This is one category where Texas wins by not losing.
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Photo By Scott Dalton/BloombergMost Hazardous NavigationTexas: Houston Ship Channel
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Photo By Gerald Herbert/APMost Hazardous NavigationLouisiana: Mississippi River
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Photo By Smiley N. Pool/StaffMost Hazardous NavigationWinner: Texas!The Mississippi River is undeniably treacherous, but the Houston Ship Channel's high volume of traffic and various hidden wrecks make it a challenge for pilots.
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Photo By Michael PaulsenBest Legal GamblingTexas: Gulf Greyhound Park
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Photo By Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist BureauBest Legal GamblingLouisiana: Casinos
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Best Legal GamblingWinner: Louisiana!For its sheer number of casino options, Louisiana has more to offer.
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Photo By NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesBest Blues MusicianLouisiana: Louis Armstrong
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Photo By unknownBest Blues MusicianTexas: Lightnin' Hopkins.
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Photo By Frank Driggs Collection/Getty ImagesBest Blues MusicianWinner: Louisiana!The Lone Star State has a rich history of blues and storied blues musicians, but Armstrong and his irrepressible smile, as well as his musical genius, are world famous.
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Photo By Wesley Hitt/Getty ImagesHistorical Architecture We Pride Ourselves OnTexas: The Alamo
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Photo By LAURA PLANTATIONHistorical Architecture We Pride Ourselves OnLouisiana: Restored plantation homes
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Photo By Photos by Kin Man Hui / San Antonio Express-NewsHistorical Architecture We Pride Ourselves OnWinner: Texas!Despite the tragic history of some of them, the tours of the Louisiana plantation homes offer a unique insight into life in antebellum American South. However, the Alamo is the Alamo.
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OVERALL WINNERTexas!Sure, we got to make up the categories and pick the winner ourselves, but regardless, if you take Mardi Gras and New Orleans food out of the equation, it's not even close.
If you thought Neutral Ground was a coffee shop in The Heights or Austin, you don't know your Texas history.
As its name might imply, the historical Neutral Ground grew out of an international disagreement over a border. According to "Texas Day by Day," an online service of the Texas State Historical Association, the United States and Spain had different opinions on where to draw the boundary between Texas and Louisiana after the United States bought the Louisiana territory in 1803.
The disagreement grew hotter until Nov. 5, 1806, when U.S. and Spanish military commanders signed an agreement declaring the disputed territory to be "neutral ground."
Its only description was a general statement placing the neutral territory between Arroyo Hondo on the east and the Sabine River on the west. In 1821, the Adams-Onis Treaty allocated the land to the United States.
Since then the two states have engaged in a more-or-less running battle for claim to fame, or in some cases, infamy.
Take hurricanes, for instance. Texas holds title to the deadliest -- the Galveston hurricane of 1900, which claimed about 6,000 lives -- while Louisiana has Katrina, the most costly in terms of dollars, with an estimated price tag of $149 billion.
SLIDESHOW: See how else the two states stack up in our battle of the states above.