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In lieu of the New Orleans Saints 1st Super Bowl appearance, I felt it necessary to share some of my fondest memories as a Saints fan.  I must admit that being a Saints fan, as insignificant as it is, has been an awesome experience.  I understand that for many, football might seem immature and overrated, but for me it has been an escape from a busy world. Enjoy.

There have been some VERY difficult times, especially in my younger years,  friends couldn’t imagine why I would choose the Saints.  The Saints had one of the most ferocious defenses but could never overcome the 49ers of the 80′s or the Cowboys of the 90′s.  Greats like; Sam Mills, Pat Swilling and Ricky Jackson have long since been forgotten because of the more star powered teams with the Montana’s and the Aikman’s.  I grew up having to defend the Saints year in and year out.  Always having to explain why “next year” would be different.   They were the forgotten franchise and before the 80′s they were known as the “aints” as in the Saints aint winning.  In the last 10 years they have gotten things moving in the right direction but still with frustration and confusion every step of the way.   I watched the Saints trade away their entire draft for Ricky Williams, the so-called savior of the Saints.  Ricky ended up getting traded away and a few years later, he totally shined for the Dolphins.  I watched Jake Delhomme sit on the bench while an injured Aaron Brooks gave his all in a losing effort.  One season, the Saints had Aaron Brooks, Jake Delhomme and Marc Bulger on the bench.  The Saints let Delhomme and Bulger go and they both had greater success on other teams.   I remember when Kyle Turley ripped off a Jets player helmet and tossed across the stadium.  I watched the River City Relay live, and for those who don’t know, it was when the Saints scored a 80 yard touchdown with 6 seconds left on the clock only to miss the extra point and get eliminated from the playoffs.  I watched the Saints get eliminated from the playoff  contention because of a botched reverse that should have never been called in the first place.  I drove 8 hours to San Diego only to watch Aaron Brooks throw a backwards pass and the Saints get pummeled  17-43 against the Chargers.  The people in my section were so frustrated that they started cheering for beer instead of the Saints.  I once drove to New Orleans from Dallas to watch the streaking 4-4 Saints LOSE to the 0-8 Rams.  TERRIBLE.  In 2006 I moved to Dallas, TX for seminary and that was the year that the Saints made the NFC Championship.   The first year of seminary was lonely because I was in a new environment where I hardly knew anyone but the Saints were a familiar solace.  Many thought the Saints were going to leave New Orleans after hurricane Katrina but instead they came back better then ever.  I went to the reopening of the Super Dome for the  Monday Night Football game against the Falcons.  U2 and Green Day opened the game with “The Saints Are Coming”.  I’ll never forget that surreal feeling that I experienced at the stadium knowing how much it meant for the city and the people in attendance.  I am not a native of New Orleans or even close to it but I could still relate to the sense of rebirth that the people felt.  We all redemption and rebirth.

While watching football has been a great experience, it pails in comparison to the times of had with the people I’ve watched the Saints with.  I wish I had more pictures of some of my good football friends but here are just a few of my fondest memories as a Saints fan.  WHO DAT!