New Orleans Saints - Rooting for Them ?

[The Flying Dutchman]

My favourite teams are the Seattle Seahawks first because of proximity, primarily, and the Dallas Cowboys for reasons I don't even understand.

Normally, when my two teams are knocked out of the playoffs I lose interest. I need an emotional reason to maintain the desire to watch a game.

However the story of the Saints comeback particularly in light of the disaster that confronted New Orleans citizens and fans after Katrina, makes me feel an intense desire to see them accomplish a Superbowl victory in their own city. For now, the outcome of the next Saints game against Chicago is more important than the situation in Iraq.

Who is rooting for the Saints around here ?

[Shagnasty]

I am but I used to live in New Orleans.

[Gangster Octopus]

I am rooting fo rhtem. Because of Katrina for one, but also because they play a very energetic style of football that is very entertaining.

[Hal Briston]

Ditto Gangster Octopus...I'd like to see them make it, but for their high-power offense style of game that I enjoy watching first, and the whole Katrina element second.

I'm really hoping for a Saints/Colts Super Bowl, but once we get there, I'll probably be rooting for Manning to finally get his ring.

[Queuing]

I am rooting for the Saints in this game, but it has nothing to do with Katrina. I am an eagles fan, and I prefer the team who beat my team to win the next game.

I am rabidly rooting against the Pats.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

I'm originally from La, so yeah, I'm pulling for the Aints. I sort of always do even though the Vikings are really my A-team.

[MadTheSwine]

I guess I will be rooting for the Colts. If the Colts lose I will be rooting for whoever plays against the Patriots.

[Stratocaster]

Eagles fan here. I was sick to death of all that "New Orleans has suffered enough, wouldn't it be great if they won?" bullshit that we were tortured with leading up to the game. I'll admit that during the heat of the game I wished a hurricane on the city again (I'm not proud of it--but I told you I'm an Eagles fan, didn't I?). Now that the heat of the moment has passed (though I'll be eating my heart out for some time now), I guess it would be okay if New Orleans got to enjoy a Super Bowl after everything they've been through. That wouldn't be horrible, I guess. I mean, it's not like they're the Cowboys or the Giants, right?

There. If that wasn't a rousing endorsement, I don't know what is.

[MaxTheVool]

I'm a middling football fan at best, but I always cheer for teams which are underdogs, have super-devoted hard-luck fanbases, or what have you.

So of the four remaining teams, the two I'd like to see win are the Bears and Saints. Thus, I will ignore next weekend's playoff games entirely and cheer for the Bears/Saints vs. the Colts/Patriots in the Super Bowl.

[The Flying Dutchman]

Eagles fan here. I was sick to death of all that "New Orleans has suffered enough, wouldn't it be great if they won?" bullshit that we were tortured with leading up to the game. I'll admit that during the heat of the game I wished a hurricane on the city again (I'm not proud of it--but I told you I'm an Eagles fan, didn't I?). Now that the heat of the moment has passed (though I'll be eating my heart out for some time now), I guess it would be okay if New Orleans got to enjoy a Super Bowl after everything they've been through. That wouldn't be horrible, I guess. I mean, it's not like they're the Cowboys or the Giants, right?

There. If that wasn't a rousing endorsement, I don't know what is.

Coming from an Eagles fan so soon after the last game, that endorsement was powerful.

[Stratocaster]

Coming from an Eagles fan so soon after the last game, that endorsement was powerful.I know. We Eagles fans are like Mother Teresa.

[Loach]

Giants fan here. In the Saints/Bears game I will root for the Saints. After living through the 85 Bears and the "Superbowl Shuffle" I would root against them if they were playing the Al Qaeda Bombers. If it is a Pats Saints/Superbowl I'd root for the Saints. In a Colts/Saints game I'll probably root for the Colts just because I want Peyton to get a ring and we won't have to hear about it anymore.

[garygnu]

I'm a 49er fan, and choose my second choice in the playoffs mostly by who's farthest west. This year, however, I am rooting for the Saints, but I am also a Payton Manning fan and I want to see him win, too.
Above all: anybody but the Patriots (even the Cowboys would have been preferable).

[Oakminster]

I've been a Saints fan over 30 years. I remember Archie, Conrad Dobler, Muncie and Galbreth, The Dome Patrol--Jackson, Johnson, Mills, & Swilling, Eric Martin, Danny Obrahmawitz (butchered the man's name there), a mummified Kenny Stable, the shattered remains of Earl Campbell, Jim Dumbrowski, Stan "The Sheriff" Brock, Bum Phillips, the Ditka fiasco with Williams, Dalton Hilliard, George Rogers, Jim Mora, Morten Andersen, the paper bags worn on our heads. Yes, this is a sweet year. Only the second playoff win in team history. Our first ever appearance in the NFC Championship. A real shot at the Super Bowl.

I'm not sure I can adequately express how good it feels to finally...finally...have the team do so well. What a great year.

GEAUX SAINTS!

[JohnT]

That "geaux" thing is gonna cost your team Q-rating points. Just tellin' ya.

Frankly, if I could not root against the Yankees in 2001, I can root for the Saints in 2006-07. It'll be doubly-precious seeing Peyton blow yet another shot at the ring... this time against Pop's perennial loser. Bet that'll make for some uncomfortable Manning family one-liners from now on...

"You're just like your father! You don't pick up after yourself, you eat like a damn pig, you can't pay the bills on time, and your teams always win championships after you leave them!"

"STFU, you prima-donna, at least me and Pops had the excuse that our teams sucked!" "Yeah? At least I didn't take four years to learn how to spell M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i, Eli!"

"Forcing your way out of San Diego right before they get good: $3,000,000. Getting your ass handed to you every Sunday by the NFL, and the rest of the week by the NYC press: $25,000,000. Watching your brother sail to 2 MVP awards and an appearance on the cover of Madden while sitting on the couch in January: Priceless."

"Where did I go wrong with you boys?!? WHERE??!?"

Yeah, I think I'd watch Capturing the Manning's. ;)

[Nars Glinley]

Another Vikings fan here pulling for da Bears. Although I love the city of New Orleans, I'll be in Chicago on the day of the Superbowl and I figure that the bars will be hopping.

[Cemetery Savior]

I am a Bears fan. I hope the Saints lose by three touchdowns, and miss their flight home. Oh, and that Reggie Bush and Marques Colston are both bruised badly!

My wife's a Purdue grad, and loves to watch Drew (the 'open parenthesis') Brees. I have heard so much more about him that I care to.

I also wish severe bruising on the following:


Rasta-Man Harris (CB)
Deuce McAllister (I think the bruising may be a foregone conclusion....NOT a finesse back)
Punter Weatherford (even though he's an ex-Illini)
Kicker-whatever-his-name-is.
The rest of the Saints, including Sean Payton (maybe Rexy will drill him whiel throwing it out of bounds).
48% of Saints fans.


Tired of equating the Saints to a "team of destiny" because they had some bad weather (I know that's evil....file me under "Eagles-fan-type". I'll be nicer after next Sunday.

-Cem

[cmkeller]

I'm like Hal...it'll be nice to see the Saints do well, but ultimately I'd love to see Peyton Manning finally do it in the postseason.

If the Pats win next week, though, I'll definitely root for the Saints over them, hopeless though that cause probably is.

[percypercy]

The Saints are the only NFL team I care about. Been that way for years, and I can't see my attitude changing. So hell yeah, Go Saints!
-Lil

[Marley23]

The Saints are a great story, I always liked them, going back to the Pat Swilling days, because of the cool black and gold and that fleur-de-lis. They always had style. If they played the Colts in the Super Bowl, I'm not sure who I'd root for. But I've been pulling for them most of the year.

[lieu]

We Eagles fans are like Mother Teresa.Yes, if she was suffering from roid rage, had a pocket full of batteries and was unable to prevent you from painfully tweaking her nipples. Then, yeah, I could see it.

I began pulling for a Saints SuperBowl after their impressive dismantling of Dallas, despite being a longtime, diehard Cowboy fan. I figured we'd have a Saints/Chargers Superbowl. Now I'm pulling for Saints/Indy since we can't have the Pats match too many of the Boys dynastic stats now, can we?

[Snooooopy]

I have been a fan of the Saints for a long time, but that's mainly because I really like their uniforms. The color scheme, that nifty fleur-de-lis ... very cool.

[Stratocaster]

Yes, if she was suffering from roid rage, had a pocket full of batteries and was unable to prevent you from painfully tweaking her nipples. Then, yeah, I could see it.Well, yeah. That's what I meant.

[Telemark]

Pats fan here, so obviously my allegiance is to them. If they lose to the Colts I'll probably root for the Colts over the Bears, or the Saints over the Colts. I

But the Pats won't lose next week, so I'll be rooting for the Pats in the Super Bowl. :)

[MovieMogul]

Now that my beloved Chargers are out of the running :( I'll be rooting for the Saints since I love the city of N.O. and have family there, and the Superdome was the first football stadium I'd ever been inside--not that sentimentality bears much weight, but I've got nothing connected to the other 3 (except ill will for the Pats: BOOOO!).

[Lord Ashtar]

I'd like to root for the Saints, but I just can't. I don't want to see a first year coach win the Superbowl, because it'll just give those impatient owners another reason to fire their coach every two or three years. "Well, if Sean Payton could do it in his first year, why can't you?"

[Merkwurdigliebe]

WOOOOHOO!

GEAUX SAINTS!

Sorry, but I'm from MS, so it's the closest thing I got. I've been a fan for my whole life I guess, and I'll admit that I don't watch football when the Saints suck, but when they don't I do. I don't switch allegiances. This only happens once every 6 years or so, so I'm very excited. And to the bears fan up above, I'm sorry but Deuce McAllister is the one who will be doing the bruising. That man is crazy strong. He's a between the tackles kinda guy which is what makes him great.

[jackelope]

I've been a hardcore Falcons fan my entire life (I'm still considering getting the tattoo), but the Saints are my #2 team. I know it's weird, since they've always been in our division, but I guess it's from watching the Saints and Falcons be NFL doormats for so long. Basically, I'll root for the Saints (or the Packers) anytime they're not playing the Falcons.

So yes, I'm rooting for the Saints. I plan to watch next weekend's game with two friends: One was a Katrina refugee who ended up staying here, and the other one's father was in Archie Manning's fraternity in college or something. They're both crazy Saints fans, and for this postseason, at least, so am I.

[OneChance]

Been a Saints fan since the late 70's when I lived in N.O. Seeing them actually win a game in the post-season has me on some kind of weird high. I was really hoping to see a Saints-Seahawks match-up since the 'hawks are my #2 team, but eh, can't win 'em all I guess.

[Sublight]

I'll be rooting for the Pats, but I'll also be rooting for the Bears against the Saints because I want to see the Bears get humiliatingly pounded in the big game in retaliation for Super Bowl XX.

[Clothahump]

New Orleans Saints - Rooting for Them ?


SWMBO is from New Orleans. Her dad still lives there. They are jumping for joy for the Saints.

I could care less. It's football. The only thing that bores me to sleep faster is golf.

[robz]

I'll be rooting for the Pats, but I'll also be rooting for the Bears against the Saints because I want to see the Bears get humiliatingly pounded in the big game in retaliation for Super Bowl XX.

I'm on this band wagon, but if Indy prevails this Sunday :smack: I be a Saints fan (if they win this Sunday). Worse case Indy & Bears win. Then I'm a Bears fan for the bowl.

What's with all the animosity about NE? ( I guess its the same way I feel about big brother).

Pat Fan in PA (surrounded by Steelers or Eagles fans).

[Telemark]

What's with all the animosity about NE? ( I guess its the same way I feel about big brother)
I have to say, this is about the first time I've seen the animosity towards the Pats. Like any team that is dominant, I think people resent them. Even though the Pats wins were always just enough to squeak out a victory, going to 4 Super Bowls in 6 years could be annoying.

Even though it's going to happen. :)

[BabaBooey]

Of course I'm pulling for them, have been since I was about 7 or 8.

As for the Pats, I don't actively root for them (especially if they play the Saints in the SB), but I have tremendous respect for a team with that much success in the salary cap era. I can understand people wanting some new blood in the SB, but I'd rather see the two best teams.

[Anastasaeon]

Yep, I'll be rooting for New Orleans now that my Hawks are out and I have at least a year-long grudge toward the Bears to nurse. Grumble.

We had a good run. Go Saints. :)

[Santo Rugger]

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but does anybody else find it a tad bit coincidental that the Pats won the Super Bowl after 9/11, and the Saints are in the final 4 after Katrina?

[Rysto]

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but does anybody else find it a tad bit coincidental that the Pats won the Super Bowl after 9/11, and the Saints are in the final 4 after Katrina?
Huh? Why the Pats, instead of the Giants or the Jets?

[lieu]

Just curious if anyone was following this rumor last season... was Tom Benson actively pursuing moving the Saints "permanently" to another city last year? Stadium possibly destroyed, populace dispersed, rebuilding prospects suspect, etc.

I've always found that thankfully rare practice rather theifish, taking the pride and joy of a city and moving it elsewhere for personal/profitability reasons. In short, it ain't playin' right. Others; Irsay, Adams and Davis just to mention a few, continue to be looked on with disgust by the fans they abandoned. I wonder if Benson came close to the same mistake and marvel at the extremes to which his name would be held, given current circumstances, if he'd made one choice instead of the other.

[VunderBob]

As far as my wife is concerned, the best possible Super Bowl would be the Saints vs. the Colts. She's lived in NO, and we lived in Indy...

[Marley23]

Just curious if anyone was following this rumor last season... was Tom Benson actively pursuing moving the Saints "permanently" to another city last year?
Rumor had it they were bound for San Antonio. I'll always wonder if Benson was guilted into keeping them in N'awlins.

[Cemetery Savior]

Yep, I'll be rooting for New Orleans now that my Hawks are out and I have at least a year-long grudge toward the Bears to nurse. Grumble.

We had a good run. Go Saints. :)

C'mon, Anastasaeon.....we enjoyed beating you, the feeling should be mutual, no? OK, the second time wasn't as pleasant as the first, but bigger stakes outweigh the ulcer I got during the game.

When did Alexander begin avoiding contact?

-Cem

[Anastasaeon]

When did Alexander begin avoiding contact?

-Cem

Sunday, apparently. Grumble.

Good game, though. No real complaints, here. I just have to hold a grudge because it's tradition. ;)

[Lute Skywatcher]

I grew up near Chicago and went to high school ~5 miles west of New Orleans. I'm pullin' for the Saints because they've never been this far before but don't mind if da Bears go to Miami.

And I'm not even a football fan!

Vont les Saints!

[Weirddave]

I'm rooting for the Saints, I'm a sucker for a feel good football story. I was dreading them getting to the SB and playing my Ravens, because there would be no way I could root against the purple and black. That's not a problem now. :( So, rooting for the Saints, if they don't make it, I want anybody except Indy. I'd cheer for Adolph Hitler's Berlin Nazis before I'd support Indy.

[lieu]

Naw, their defense sucks and their cheerleaders wear pigtails.

[BabaBooey]

Benson is a turd and there's still talk of moving the Saints once the Katrina thing dies down. That's why, despite the media (especially ESPN) beating the whole natural disaster thing over my and everyone else's head, I'm hoping the Katrina talk doesn't stop for a good while. Fortunately, Benson isn't getting any younger, and his daughter appears to be a decent person and is fairly do-able. Way more do-able than any other NFL owner, at least.

[Ivorybill]

Just curious if anyone was following this rumor last season... was Tom Benson actively pursuing moving the Saints "permanently" to another city last year? Stadium possibly destroyed, populace dispersed, rebuilding prospects suspect, etc.Benson has wished for a long time that the team would be more profitable. He complained about the small TV market in New Orleans versus other cities without NFL teams. Season ticket sales were awful. He wanted a new stadium as the Superdome was showing its age pre-Katrina and didn't have the high-profit suites and amenities of modern arenas. There were discussions about a new riverfront stadium before the storm, but they were never finalized. Benson remained unhappy with the state, with the city, and with his having to have the Saint here. Conventional wisdom here is that he saw Katrina as a chance to finally get out of the state and city.

Thankfully, NFL and the the other owners were not sympathetic to his desires to move the team so soon after the storm. They pretty much forced him to keep the Saints here.

Benson fired just about everyone in the executive team and brought in new people. They hired Sean Payton to coach, took a chance on Drew Brees, and lucked into Reggie Bush in the draft. Then the season ticket prices were lowered this year to a level of affordability and they were all sold out before the opening game of the season. IIRC, Reggie Bush's jersey is the best selling one of all. The team is winning. Benson is making money. People here are going nuts.

And yes, given my location, you can be damn sure I'll be rooting for them.

[jackelope]

I've always found that thankfully rare practice rather theifish, taking the pride and joy of a city and moving it elsewhere for personal/profitability reasons. In short, it ain't playin' right. Others; Irsay, Adams and Davis just to mention a few, continue to be looked on with disgust by the fans they abandoned.Don't forget Art Modell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Modell#Move_to_Baltimore).

(No offense, Weirddave. I like the Ravens, and their name, and especially McNair; but I hate how they got there.)

[LifeOnWry]

Born and bred Bears fan here.

But... I like the Saints a lot, I just don't want to lose to them. If the Bears can't go all the way, I'll happily wish the best of luck to New Orleans in the Super Bowl.

[Khadaji]

Well, sorta. I'm rooting against the Bears, so it is almost the same thing.

[dalej42]

I'm the only Arizona Cardinals fan in the world, so of course I"m cheering for the Saints this year!

[Rysdad]

I'm kind of hoping for the Bears to win. If they can succeed with that stumblebum of a quarterback they've got leading the team, it kind of gives me a little spark of hope for this country.

[Mr. Nuggets]

I'm rooting for them today, not because I feel sorry for them, but because I hate the Bears. I'm more of a Packers fan. I only rooted for Chicago last week because Seattle was the only alternative, ugh.

[Hal Briston]

Ah well...

[Santo Rugger]

Huh? Why the Pats, instead of the Giants or the Jets?
Not because of the city, but because of the team mascot. Everybody in the country was pretty darn patriotic at that point in time.

[Telemark]

Oh well, my two choices both lost. :( Go Colts!