I have long been a New Orleans Saints fan even though I grew up in Queens - serious Jets territory with some Giants thrown in on account of the Jets’ general awfulness. I vaguely remember Chuck Muncie, kinda remember George Rogers and, sadly, vividly remember Ricky Williams. I’ve even got a jersey. Along with a Norman Hand jersey. And a musical plush football that says “Who Dat!” when you throw it against the wall. Anyway.
I have cried over this team* and celebrated with this team.** Now people are picking them to go to the Super Bowl and it seems that the Saints are America’s Team .
I hate to say this but ... Fuck You America.
I don’t want the pity party. I don’t want the bullshit story lines about the post-Katrina emotion and I don’t want every Saints fumble to be turned into a kidney punch for some poor blind woman in the 9th Ward who has nothing left but a beat up transistor and the voice of Hokie Gajan to get her through her bleak days.
I love this team. I was thrilled when we (yes, “we,” asshole) signed Drew Brees and even more thrilled when the Texans decided to whiff on the easiest draft choice ever. When I was asked at the beginning of the year, I said that if the schedule breaks right, the Saints could win 10 or 11 games. It sounded crazy at the time but I knew that it was true (I also said that 4-12 was possible and I’m not at all sure that was wrong either (see week 15)). Now that it has come true, now that the Saints are 10-5, I’d like to enjoy the success of my favorite football team. They are not a metaphor. They aren’t a metaphor this year; they are winning with good players. They weren’t a metaphor last year; they lost becuase their QB was functionally retarded.
It is really tiresome to have to listen to all the crap about destiny and rebuilding and, most of all, Hurricane Katrina. The devastation wrought by the hurricane is too serious to be reduced to cheap motivation for a football game and football doesn’t have the necessary heft to bear the burden of Katrina.
Plus - this team doesn’t really merit the attention! They have an excellent offense. Between Brees. Bush, McAllister and a crew of fast WRs that no defensive unit in the league can cover straight up, the team can score points by the bushel. But the Redskins exposed them as very vulnerable to a high-pressure rush. The defense is average at best. Fred Thomas is a terrible cover man on deep routes and the middle of the DL is weak against the rush. They get scored on a lot. In the AFC this is a middle of the pack team. The bye says much more about the NFC than it does about the Saints.
That said, they are 10-5 and I have enjoyed the hell out of the season. I got to go to two games and discovered that Bar None, which is usually full of people I hate, becomes a Saints bar on game day and is temporarily full of people I love. So why does all of the coverage of this team sound like reporting at the Special Olympics?
It galls me to see the sports world give the New Orleans Saints and the city of New Orleans a sad pity fuck when we have earned a dirty passionate lay.