The Stars Align
Cliff says it best
This is the day we have all been waiting for. I have never seen the city this excited about anything. This week people have been randomly shouting “WHO DAT!” to total strangers and giving one another high fives. I love it. I don’t know how long it’s going to last but if things get out of hand and people start bickering at least we have a point of reference to remind them of how it feels to be unified about something. It’s been very hard for me to get the same nervous and paranoid feeling that I usually have for a big Saints game. I really wanted the team to play in the Superbowl and I never really changed my agenda to winning it. I am already so satisfied that I can’t get it going for today. I hope the team isn’t feeling the same way I do.
Some people in the national media really got upset when we beat Brett Favre and have refused to give us any respect for being in the championship. If you listen to some of them it was like the Vikings were ahead in the game 28-0 and Brett’s intercept was worth 28 points at the end. For years I have listened to these experts give good teams credit for not beating themselves and taking advantage of the other team’s mistakes. The Saints did it to Brett Favre and suddenly they are not worthy of being in the game. That kind of stuff has made me not watch a lot of pregame coverage. I wasn’t letting their sour grapes take my joy.
I don’t think our team has gotten enough credit. Football is a team sport. No one player can be so good that he can make up for the other 52 guys. It just doesn’t happen. If that was the case Peyton Manning would have 8 Superbowl rings by now. Other guys have to step up. That’s what made this season special for the Saints. There hasn’t been enough mention of the fact that we played a full season with an untested backup left tackle after Jamaal Brown was injured. That usually spells doom for a team and he more than held his own. There hasn’t been enough mentioned that one of our starting defensive tackles was hurt early on and that there was a stretch in the middle of the season where both starters were hurt and a bunch of guys no one heard of played their hearts out and held up just enough for us to win those games. It was around this same time that both of our starting cornerbacks were hurt too and we fought through it with Randall Gay, a rookie, and some guys we had to sign off the street. We beat New England on Monday night with this lineup. I would for someone to mention that our fullback Heath Evans got hurt and our leading receiver from last year only played in a few games yet we still managed to lead the league in scoring. We didn’t have one running back with 2000 yards but we had three backs combine for over 1800 yards. Don’t get me started on Anthony Hargrove. We have had the ultimate example of 53 guys working together to do something special and these groupies want to make it seem like we are a charity case. We are a really good team and there’s no reason we can’t beat the Colts.
We are in the big game. Rickey Jackson made the Hall of Fame. The city feels good about itself. I can’t ask for much more. Let’s finish strong and see what happens.
It’s contagious folks. I wore black and a subdued (tan) version of gold to church. I worshiped in a sanctuary of Saints’ jerseys and Fleur de Lis. The Colts have done this often. It’s all new here and we’re loving it. The Barcus Parade is time shifted, and the election happened yesterday almost unheralded. Mitch Landrieu is our mayor. I hate the dynastic implications, but he was probably the best of the lot. Now if his sister could at least show some shame for being a bought vote…
But for today, we dress in Black and Gold and let the good times roll.
February 7th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
I’ve lived the passion and the fury of three trips in my lifetime, two losses and one win. GO SAINTS. There’s no madness like hometown football madness.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
No tv, so can’t watch the game…bleh…wouldn’t watch even if I did have tv. Am hearing comments about misogynistic commercials. What’s that all about? Instead went to a concert of 19th century music at St. Mark’s. Fun songs, words printed out so you could follow along and/or knit at the same time. Better than Super Bowl.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Gail, it’ll shock you I know… but I played bridge as Bets and Sara provided updated scores as the teams scored, interceptions… stuff… happened. My quiet little street broke out in shouts, horns and fireworks as the game came to an end. I cannot imagine the euphoria on Bourbon street. But this is suiting. I listened to American Routes on my local NPR and had a perfectly enjoyable evening at home.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Another non-watcher here. I do have a TV but don’t get the full range of channels so no SB for me not that I would watch anyway. Sometime in the evening when I was on-line I thought about it and found a site with updates. At that point there were a bit more than 5 minutes left in the game and the Saints were ahead. Looked good but you can never discount the last few minutes of the game. I was peased to hear at news time that the Saints had won. Way to go, Saints! I love it when the underdog wins. So, I’m guessing that NOLA and surrounding areas will be partying hardy plus some throughout the Mardi Gras season and beyond.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Nice commentary about the superbowl.You should apply to NFL for a spot on tv football games.
go saints,go