Saints Win the Superbowl and My Story as a Lifetime Saints Fan

I’ve been a Saints fan my whole life.  The first time I entered the Superdome I was three and went to a game with my Papa.  He had season tickets as he always did.  I still remember that first visit and how BIG and amazing the inside of that dome was.

I was born in Monroe, LA and we lived in Metairie (a subburb of New Orleans) when my brother was born.  By the time  I was five we were living in Golden Meadow, LA.  Golden Meadow is basically as far down in the bayou as you can go and still be in a town.  We had three hurricanes one summer and I remember coming home and seeing the marks on the wall where the water had come up in the house.  We left “Loos-e-aner” shortly after.

Papa died of diabetes and Uncle Kevin of AIDS when I was nine and ten so we didn’t have any family left in New Orleans.  I’ve only visited the state once since the last funeral.  The Saints were the only real connection to Louisiana that I had left, but it’s one that I’ve strongly held onto because I remember how much my grandfather loved them. Five years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit the state I was reminded of those experiences and remembered what it must be like going through that.

When I was fourteen and living in South Carolina the Carolina Panthers came into town.  They even played their inaugural season in Clemson’s Death Valley, which was just down the street from where I lived.  I was actually able to go see a couple of games that first season and watched them win a few. It has always been so easy to pull for the Panthers.  Their owner Jerry Richardson, a Wofford College alum, is good friends with my uncle, and the Panthers have always done their spring training in Spartanburg, SC at Wofford.  For those of you who don’t know, I am a third generation Wofford alum.  I also worked at the school in multiple roles for six years after graduation.  Although I still really like the Panthers, when they play the division rival Saints I’ve always pulled for the “aints.”

The Saints have been known as the “aints” for quite some time.  They went over a decade before their first season with a .500 record.  The Panthers made it to the NFC Championship game in their SECOND SEASON!  It was twenty years before the Saints made the playoffs for the first time, and although they came into the league in 1967 I still vividly remember their very first playoff victory in 2000.

Tonight’s Superbowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts still seams surreal.  Watching the game, it didn’t seem like a real Superbowl because the Saints were playing in it.  This is all despite having two whole weeks for me to mentally prepare for it AND passing through Miami yesterday and seeing all the fans and excitement.  The Saints fans in Miami on Saturday must have outnumbered the Colts fans 15:1.

So here I am after the events of tonight compelled to tell this abbreviated story of my life as a Saints fan.  Tonight is one of those special moments that I will remember for a very long time.

WHO DAT!  GEAUX SAINTS!