Drew Brees and the Saints are in the Super Bowl. Is the apocalypse upon us?
Global warming? Terrorist attacks? Economic disaster? Those things pale in comparison to what happened Sunday. Now we really have something to worry about. Get your affairs in order. Make sure you spend quality time with your loved ones. The apocalypse is surely at hand. The end of the world as we know is around the corner.
The New Orleans Saints are in the Super Bowl. Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. At least not without my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. But it’s true. Yeah, the New Orleans Saints! I know it’s not funny. In fact it’s kind of sick.
The same New Orleans Saints that used to be called the Aints. The same Saints that once had fans that came to games wearing brown paper bags over their heads. The same Saints that once pinned their hopes on a quarterback, John Fourcade, whose biggest success came when all the real players were on strike.
It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Brett Favre was supposed to be in the Super Bowl. That was the story. A 40 year old quarterback leading his team to the promised land- that was what everybody wanted. We wanted to see Favre and the Minnesota Vikings going head to head against Peyton Manning – the best quarterback in the game.
But instead we’re saddled with the New Orleans Saints? They used to play Super Bowls in New Orleans but we never expected the team from there to play in one. New Orleans is known for Bourbon Street not football. The Saints were something to laugh about. They always provided good material for the local comics.
It took the Saints 20 years before they made a playoff appearance. 1987, the playoff year, was also the first time the Saints had a winning record since being established in 1967. They once had a coach named Bum. I mean these guys were bad.
The Saints had never won a playoff game before 2000. Most teams run in cycles. The 49ers had their glory years but have been down recently. Dallas has been up and down Miami has had its day in the sun. But the Saints had only one cycle. It was always down.
As a franchise they’ve lost more than 100 games more than they have won. In 43 years they have managed to win 275 games. But they have lost 378. The Saints have had only nine winning seasons in 43 years.
The Saints haven’t marched on anybody. Everyone has had their number. Mike Ditka, who won a Super Bowl title with the Bears in 1985, couldn’t win there. In three years as the Saints head coach he went a combined 15-33 including a 3-13 record in 1996.
Hank Stram won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1970. In two years as the Saints coach, ’76 and ’77, he went 7-21.
1980 was the year that the fans started busting out the paper bags. The Saints lost their first 14 games before finally beating the Jets in week 15. Fans dubbed the team the Aints and showed up looking like the Unknown Comic.
Tom Petty once sang that “Even the losers get lucky some time” but with New Orleans even luck seemed out of the question – until this season.
They started winning and kept on winning. You kept expecting something to go wrong but it never did. Somebody would get hurt- maybe the quarterback Drew Brees- or a wide receiver. These were the Saints. A Super Bowl was not possible.
You knew they would fall in the post season. But they ran over Arizona to set up the showdown with the Vikings. Now they were done. And they appeared to be. But Minnesota turned the ball over five times including two by the great Favre. His interception at the end of regulation led to the Saints win.
Destiny? Will the Saints actually win the Super Bowl? Against Peyton Manning? Of course not. Colts roll 35-10.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tspeterson@yahoo.com.
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