Everyone Expects The S.O.S.: We've Got 'Em Right Where We Want 'Em!

France

in any case, somewhere along the way we decided to drop a syllable from the french version. but everybody hear says it like #2

that residents of New OrLINS also reside in OrLEANS parish? I never have been able to figure that out.

.. ‘Nyorlins’.

but if I hear Looking Glass kicking out Brandy I’m gonna let loose with some crooning and you all will cry because you’ve never been so moved by the heartfelt plight of a waitress in a port town…

but the coaches have to come up with a scheme and make sure that the players buy into the scheme. i dont think we have had a problem with the players buying into the scheme on either side of the ball. and i dont think that gw told the players to over pursue and forget about containing the end on the second play of the carolina game. what worries me is the ridiculous amount of blitzes we call when we can neither get pressure or cover deep. hopefully he was just “trying” some different things and greer and porter really do make that much of a difference.

Well, unless it’s a bar within the stadium, I don’t think that’ll be possible. Even then, I’m not going to neglect a live game that I paid to see, in favor of a game on TV, regardless of who’s playing, unless the game is ridiculously lopsided or the weather is just downright unbearable. TiVo’s always an option. And when one team or the other plays on Sunday or Monday night, obviously.

I don’t understand how it would be possible to stop considering the saints your favorite team even if you do move to another city considering how long you have been rooting for them. I have known quite a few people that moved to Houston and continue supporting the Saints. Do you really think you would be able to switch that easily after that many years as a fan of the Saints?

(This turned out being much longer than I anticipated when I started. Most normal people won’t give a crap about my perspective anyway. But as I had time to kill and it’s already written, I’ll go ahead and post it while at the same time apologizing for it’s length to anyone who might take the time to read it)

I technically moved from N.O. in 1970 to go to school at LSU, so that doesn’t really count. I moved to Houston in ‘75 and have lived here ever since with the exception of a 4 year stint in Dallas and a 1 year stint in Atlanta. I’ve never waivered from being a loyal Saints fan. CP – depending on how long you’ve lived in New Orleans, I think totally switching allegence to another team may be more difficult than you might imagine. However, living somewhere other than N.O. the majority of my life has probably influenced my perspective regarding teams other than the Saints.

I’ve noticed over the years that fans (of any city’s team) that “hate” other teams are more often fans that have lived in that city all their life (or all their adult life). People with loyalty to a “home town” team who have lived in different areas for a significant period are more often open minded regarding their views of other teams, although I know at least one person who goes against this generality. Personally, I’m all over the map regarding teams other than the Saints, but my likes and dislikes are more often due to specific players, coaches or owners rather than the team as a whole.

I have some very close friends who live in Dallas and are Cowboy fans. When I lived there, I “kinda” liked them due to my admiration for Tom Landry. Now, I’m one of the relative minority that neither ‘love" nor “hate” them. But, I never root for them since Jerry Jones came into the picture unless it’s a rare circumstance where the Saints benefit by their having a victory. I have a few friends that are big Falcon fans. Unlike many Saints fans, I actually root for the Falcons when they are in the playoffs and the Saints aren’t, but this is more due to wanting the NFC South getting the nationwide reputation for being the tough division we already know it is… so, I suspect this would also be the case if I hadn’t lived there for a short time or have friends who live there.

When the Oilers were in Houston, I became a fan of theirs largely because Bum Phillips and several of their players (Earl Campbell, Dan Pastorini for ex.) were very “likable” people. When Bum left and was replaced by the likes of Jerry Glanville and Eddie Biles, my interest in them quickly vanished. (Side Note: to this date, my favorite poster ever seen at an NFL game was in the Astrodome and read – “It’s Time For a Biles Movement”.) It’s also good that I moved to a city with an AFC team as it makes it much easier to like a team that will probably only play the Saints once every four years. A fact that could be beneficial for CP given his choice of potential cities to move to.

However, since the Texans have come into the NFL, it’s been very difficult for me to be anything other than ambivalent toward them. I want to see them to well for the sake of the city I live in, but I don’t get too upset when they don’t. Unfortunately for the team, most people I know here feel the same way. In the area of town I live in at least, I think there are probably more Saints fans than there are Texan fans. I’ve only been to one Texans game and that was on one of the rare occassions they played the Saints. At that game, I saw nearly as many Saints jerseys as I saw Texans jerseys. I think this is partially due to so many people living in Houston who are originally from Louisiana and the fact the Saints became somewhat of an “adopted” team for many Houstonians when the Oilers left. (The years between the Oilers and Texans were the only time since I’ve lived here that I could routinely watch the Saints on TV without leaving my house.) Another thing that keeps the Texans from having a larger fan base than they do is because so many people living in Houston are from somewhere else and brought team loyalities to some other team with them. It’s unusual to meet a native Houstonian who is younger than 20 something. But whatever the reason, it’s safe to say that Houston has never embraced the Texans to nearly the extent they did the Oilers.

A couple of other football obersvations I’ve made living here: First, Houston is probably the only city in Texas where the majority of residents don’t like the Cowboys. (People unfamiliar with Houston are often surprised to learn it is perhaps more cajun than cowboy hats and boots. Keep in mind, we’re only an hour and a half drive from the Louisiana border.) Second, the easiest way for love of a team to turn to hate and resentment is for them to move to another state and change their name. Mention of the word “Oilers” in Houston typically results in either nostalgia or obscenities about Bud Adams. But, on the rare occassion you see someone wearing a Titans jersey at a sports bar, it usually gets the same reaction as someone wearing a pro-abortion tee shirt at a right to life rally.

I do have one friend living here whom I’ve known since I was in high school in New Orleans. He loves the Saints and LSU Tigers and proudly “hates” everyone else. While these are also my favorite teams, unlike him, I will be rooting for UT tonight almost as much as if it were LSU playing for the National Championship. Also unlike him, the Steelers are my second favorite team and have been for 30 years. I was happy when they won the Super Bowl last year. Keep in mind, UT won’t be playing LSU and the Steelers weren’t playing the Saints. I’ve often joked with my friend that he is a Saints fan and a Tigers fan, but he’s not a real football fan. My theory is, how can you really love a sport if you hate 99% of the organizations that comprise that sport?

Having other teams I’ve liked and followed, however, has never deminished my love and loyalty to the Saints. There is nothing any other team could possibly do that would bring me as much joy as the Saints winning a Super Bowl. When that happens, I have a feeling that I’ll realize I just thought I was happy when LSU won their two BCS championships. As elated as I was on those nights, I didn’t cry. When the Saints win a Lombardi trophy, I’m pretty sure I’ll break down like a baby.

You would look adorable in a pair of gardening clogs… but I bet they would be black and gold.