Opinion: Future Saints Season Tickets Should Feature Fans

The first Saints home game is still almost a month away so tickets have not yet been mailed to season ticket holders such as myself. Anyone who's ever had the good fortune of owning season tickets to any team will know that nothing matches the excitement of opening them up for the first time and holding the entire block in your hand as the distinct smell of cardboard and ink fills your nose. I've got my tickets from last season at the custom framers as we speak, getting ready to be displayed proudly on my guest bedroom wall. 

Now that the Saints have won a Super Bowl, that feeling of  'This could finally be the year" may not accompany the season ticket opening process but like every August, I am still excited about the possibilities that a new season brings. At the very least I am certainly curious to see what the tickets will look like, after a downgrade in quality last season over the few years prior. A world championship team should have world championship tickets, right?

Not that the Saints don't do enough as it is in the fan appreciation department, but It would be cool if the team took a cue from the Philadelphia Eagles this season. Instead of featuring popular players on the face of each game's ticket, as is usually the custom, the Eagles have selected ten die-hard season ticket holders to grace each game passport. 

"The stars that never change year in and year out are the fans," said Tim McDermott, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Eagles. "They're really the centerpiece of who the Eagles are. The fans are the ones that really own the team."    

For example, blind Eagles fan Mark Esposito will be pictured on the tickets for the teams October 17th game against the Falcons with the phrase, "I may have never seen a game, but I'll never miss one." That's pretty cool and unique stuff right there. Since Who Dat Nation is home to the worlds greatest and most colorful football die-hards, what better organization to feature fans on their tickets than the Saints? So make it happen, Benson.

If they hurry, maybe the Saints can call the printer and have them change to the fan-centric stubs for this season. Since it's so late in the game, I've come up with a few mock ups to get the front office started and to give them a little direction. After the jump you can find some samples I created featuring prominent Saints fans and using a 2008 ticket as a template.