Who Dat!

I hope Tide fans will forgive me this excursion into pro football, to quote Bob Cratchit “It’s only once a year and it won’t be repeated” or words to that effect. I have a long and sad history with Super Bowls. More often than not my team was on the short end of the outcome. You see I have never been a Cowboys, John Elway or Steelers fan. I can just about count the number of Super Bowls that ended well from my point of view on one hand, though that might be an exaggeration, but not by much.

This win by the New Orleans Saints is a win for everybody who’s ever been down and out. It’s for everybody who found a way to get up every morning and keep going no matter how bad things had gotten. This is a win for all of those losers out there who found a way to win.

This win isn’t just for New Orleans, though god knows they needed one. No this one’s for Thibodaux, Bayou La Batre, it’s for Pearl, Mississippi, for Gulfport, Mobile and all those places that all these years have watched the Saints on the TV. I spent two years in graduate school in Mobile and we got the Saints every Sunday. I remember an incredibly embarrassing moment when Joe Namath was doing color commentary during a game when the Saints were getting pounded and as they are want to do the commentary began to drift. They began talking about the Saints helmets. The play by play guy asked Joe what he knew about the fleur-de-lis on the Saints helmet and Joe said he thought it was a spear point. Well, he was a journalism major.

I spent two great years in Jackson, Mississippi, which is by the way, the friendliest city on earth. In my living room I watched Bobby Hebert try his best to lead the Saints into the promised land. It was close but no cigar. It didn’t matter people still followed them. We watched and we would mostly be let down. This one is for all those great people in Jackson.

This win is really something special. I’ll admit I’m not traditionally a Saints fan I’m more of a Packers, Jets fan. In fact I was pulling for a Vikings-Jets match up. This is the Saints, this is the town that begat the Aints, these are the people who went to games wearing paper bags over their heads. This is the Big Easy, this is a place and you know this if you’ve ever been there that’s out to take you for all you’re worth. My good friend Woody once asked a merchant at the Old Jackson Brewery if it was possible to get out of New Orleans with $20 in your pocket and the clerk said and I swear I’m not making this up. She said is you car full of gas. If it is and you’ve got $20 in your pocket, get in that car and go home.

That says it all. One last thing, I’m sure Archie Manning loves Peyton. I’m sure he’s a good Dad. But, you know what in my heart of hearts I’m sure he was sad that Peyton’s team lost. But, I’ll bet somewhere at some time he smiled. His Saints had finally won the Super Bowl. This one was for all of us who love life, have been down and out and love New Orleans and everything it stands for, all of it.

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