Rarely in sports do you ever see the Hollywood story play out before our eyes, but Sunday was one of those special days that we got to see the story book ending if the last four years of the New Orleans Saints franchise had been a book. It started with Hurricane Katrina and the team having to play in New Orleans then taking a chance on Drew Brees, building the franchise from the ground up with the combination of all the great players, and ending with a Super Bowl win.
When the playoffs started if the Green Bay Packers got eliminated, I wanted the Saints. I loved Reggie Bush in college and hoped that he would break out in the pros. I also thought Brees was a complete class act before seeing all the stuff pre-Super Bowl now I know he is the definition of role model in professional sports. Not to mention, I watched him a fair amount in college at Purdue. The duo of Bush-Brees gravitated me towards this team and even though, we heard about too much if one team was to go unbeaten... I prayed it would be the Saints.
The thing that I never realized until this week is how strong thir fan base really is. But if you look at, there are only a few NFL teams in the Southeast part of the United States. In addition, the fact that Carolina and Jacksonville weren't franchises until 1994 therefore anyone growing up in decades before chose cheering for Atlanta, Miami, or New Orleans, which would expand their fan base even more. The WHO DAT?! chants are great and you can tell these people geniunely care about their football team in New Orleans.
The sexy question about the Saints are can they maintain this run or is this another one-year wonder Super Bowl team? I think the Saints will be featured in the NFC Championship a couple times and back in the Super Bowl at least once in the coming decade. The reasons why? Sean Payton is an offensive mastermind and with a somewhat young offense, they could dominate that side of the ball for the next decade. Drew Brees could be the best quarterback in football right now with all things considered and when you have that kind of quarterback, you wonder if anybody will challenge the Saints. Finally, I think you haven't seen the last of Reggie Bush, I think next season will be a break out year for Bush.
My question is will the Saints get annoying like the New England Patriots did when they won their second Super Bowl. People LOVED the Pats in the same way they loved the Saints this year. Will people start to find Who Dat a bit annoying or see Brees as too much a pretty boy creating some sort of dislike for the Saints. Honestly, this will not happen for at least five years because even though, it happened four years ago Katrina is still fresh in people minds and it's something that has stuck with people for many years to come. People understand that football is a release for some people who are still trying to pick up the pieces from the horrific disaster.
I do know one thing, the Saints are no longer the Aints
-Charlie.
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