Let the record show that I do not have a black-and-gold soul. The Patriots are my favorite football team, and even if you amend the criteria to include only teams in the NFC, the Saints would ultimately come in a close second to the Chicago Bears. But I have fallen in love with the city of New Orleans, and anybody who knows anything about New Orleans knows that the Saints are the big show for at least 6 months out of every year. Depending on who you ask, this time frame for Saints fanaticism could easily double to a year round obsession.
And this year the Saints are doing well and the city is inundated with optimism. However, I am not going to employ the “Saints success as a metaphor for the enduring spirit of the city” device that seems to be all the rage since they are off to such a scorching start. Everyone in this city is part of this enduring spirit, and New Orleans doesn’t need a metaphor to help the rest of the country understand the concept as much as she needs a transparent government and elected officials that have the ability to turn their backs on women of the night and no-bid contracts. Regardless of the win-loss record of the NFL team that calls this glorious city home, New Orleans is going to be just fine because the people here need no excuse to walk tall, stand proud or party down.
This being said, if you give this city even half a reason to get live, it will gladly take you up on your offer. And if this good news or reason for celebration is even remotely related to the Saints… you better just light fuse and get away. So I have not only hopped on the Saints bandwagon, I called shotgun and started fiddling with the radio presets and climate control.
A Saints win sends New Orleans into a blissful tizzy that seems to last for days. But the Saints are worthy of our support not because the future of the city depends on their continued success (it doesn’t), but because they are talented, hard-working, tough, cohesive, and exciting.
I’m rooting for the Saints, but I’m also rooting for the potential mayoral candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring to conduct honest and open campaigns and for those on the fence to have the courage to run. I am rooting for the new class of entrepreneurs that are the talk of the town to succeed in their vision to bring new industry and opportunity to the region. I am rooting for tourists from around the world to continue to discover and rediscover all the wonderful things that make New Orleans a great place to spend a little time and money.
And I am rooting for everyone in New Orleans to root for all these things as much as we root for the Saints. I know for a fact that this place has plenty of passion to go around. WHO DAT?!?!?!?!?!?
