The Stolen Season
 

For me 2012 will forever been known as the stolen season.
Stolen from the fans by the league,for one reason.To try and cover there backsides from a court case.Stolen draft picks,coaches,GM players unable to fully focus on the game due to trying to clear there name.

But saying all that i refuse to let this kill my enthusiasm for the 2013 season.
I will be pissed come draft night and we do not pick in the second round again but with a few tweaks in the draft,some clever dealing in free agency,coaches and players only focused on on-field issues i am am certain that a 10+ win season takes the Saints back to the playoffs.

Goodbye to those Saints players leaving in the summer.
To some good luck and thank you,to others dont let the door hit your ass on the way out.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

It certainly impacted how I'll view the league office from here on out. Normally, I don't pay that much attention to 'em, but they're on my radar now, and not in a good way. :burn:

Re: The Stolen Season
 

dammit, I thought I invented the phrase "Stolen Season."

Re: The Stolen Season
 

:lol: ... better get out & trademark that bad-boy, it's gonna' be a popular one! I wonder if it's a registered domain yet, :lol:. 'StolenSeason.com'

Re: The Stolen Season
 

2012 will be remembered as the year that Goodell dropped a 50 burger on the Saints. But now Goodell is on everyone's shatlist and with Payton's new contract the coming seasons are looking better.

We still have a lot to be thankful for as fans as the Saints have made the playoffs for last 3 seasons.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

I always thought of it as the "Lost Season" but Stolen seems more apt.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

DOA

Re: The Stolen Season
 

This year is "The Stolen Season" Goddell, the jack hole, abused his power with evidence from a disgruntled fired employee and took the screws to the Saints and robbed us of another title, thank god I won't be in NOLA come Superbowl week

Re: The Stolen Season
 

A season of hope. Stolen. Call the police cause we waz robbed.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

I'm STILL waiting to see the real evidence. I'm still wanting to know the timeline of what this was really about. From who, what, where, when this really started.

Did it start with Childress complaining to Goodell, whose daughter is a Vikings fan (!), and did Childress name Jimmy Kennedy as his "source," because he knew of his connection to Hargrove, even though Kennedy never said so? Did Zyg Wylf, who desperately needed the NFL's help with a new stadium, complain to Goodell about it too? Where did this all COME FROM?

I said this way back at the beginning -- I have an enormous amount of emotion and energy invested in these guys and the team, as a fan...But as a reasonable, rational person, knowing what I know about the players, their coaches and their character, I REFUSE to throw them under the bus, just based on allegations or hearsay or things that don't pass the "smell test" but make good headlines....

I know people who occasionally do bad stuff -- friends, acquaintances, people I know, maybe someone close, or there's a family argument -- and in those cases I weigh it and evaluate and hear what people say, I weigh everything I hear from all sides of the argument and I decide each case on its merits ...

That never really happened in this case....we didn't get the chance to do that, as fans of the team, to weigh things and decide based on evidence....

Like a lot of Saints fans, I'm perfectly reasonable as a human being -- if someone shows me evidence that proves their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and shows an even hand of equitable punishment for all teams across the board, that you can TRUST the decision of the person in charge, well I will GLADLY throw these guys under the bus, Payton and Loomis Vilma and Hargrove and whoever else, and wish them to be buried in the Saints Hall Of Shame....

That just 100% never happened in this case, from the very beginning.

I have buried many Saints players in my personal "Hall of Shame" before...I have punted Russell Erxleben, I've saluted Aaron Brooks' backwards pass, I remember the dudes who did cocaine.....Ditka...your list may have more or other different names there....doesn't matter.

But to ME, this whole thing exposed the hypocrisy, the executive commissioner out of control, the flaws in the structure, and it soured me on the league, the executive leadership, the media, the fans of other teams, the refs, and basically EVERYONE IN THE WORLD that isn't a Saints fan.


I'll never view the sport the same way again.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

I feel your pain.

As a great Cyborg once said
"We`ll be back"

Re: The Stolen Season
 

It's something we can't get back. As bad as we want it. It is what it is. You can't put toothpaste back in the tube. I'm just looking forward to seeing coach back and moving forward!

I felt about like the season was stolen too. But as far as I heard Payton admitted that there had been bounty payments? If so, it was annoying that we got cought. But I never saw an article stating SP's commitment. And if he did, what was the reason?

I am positive that after this stolen season our black and gold comes back stronger, like the coach will do too. No one can stop us in 2013!!!

Re: The Stolen Season
 

No, he never said ANY such thing... He took full responsibility for the WHOLE THING, the scandal, as head coach, and he apologized for "what happened on his watch".... and he apologized to Goodell, Benson and the fans...but in a very careful statement that not a lot of people read, he NEVER once admitted to any bounty payments, to any bounty program, to Vilma's $50,000 on the table, or anything even close to admitting anything of what allegations Goodell was describing....just that he was guilty of "disrespecting the shield" of Goodell and the NFL....in truth there wasn't anything else he could really admit to with a clean conscience. But being the one in charge, the top person, he took responsibility for that, and owned up to it, that it was "on him." And a lot of media don't pay attention to what he said, and even some people in Saints-land don't give him any credit for that.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

The season just ended two days ago, and I'm already over it. Bring on next year!

Thanks for the post, bro! That reads much different and makes sence!

Re: The Stolen Season
 

Hindsight, it actually caused more damage to Goodell than the Saints season. He solidified what everyone though about him. Vilma may just forge it in time for good. For the Saints legacy I will remember it as a season with uncommon adversity yet they almost got into the playoffs, just fell a little short.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

Last season will forever be this, in my mind:

2012 *

Re: The Stolen Season
 

Ditto Bro. Couldn't have said it better myself. You said what I have been feeling all along. A lot of people say it's time to move on. Well to some degree that is true. But these were some serious accusations levied against our team, coaches, players, and organization without out as much as a solid shred of evidence to back up the seriousness of these charges. Like you, until I SEE this so-called evidence I refuse to believe that any member of this team or coaching staff participated in something as heinous as paying each other to injure opposing players. If such evidence is produced to backup these allegations then I will have a lot of lost respect for the current staff and players of this team. As of right now, I solidly stand behind these guys 110% and I hope Vilma fights goodell until the bitter end.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

That pretty much sums it up - about as well put as it could be.

Re: The Stolen Season
 

Those people are wrong. How do you ever fully move on from something like this? To some degree, maybe, but never fully. For some reason that song, "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan pops into my head ... " ... but it won't be over till they clear his name, and give him back the time he's done ... ".

This whole thing was a travesty of justice.