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Let the hype begin, the Patriots are coming to town

Three years ago in September, we settled into the press box of the Louisiana Superdome for the biggest game in New Orleans Saints history.
The biggest game in Superdome history, really, with the possible exception of the six Super Bowls or college football national championship games, whether in the form of the Sugar Bowl or the BCS title tilt in January 2008, when LSU spanked Ohio State.

In any event, it was a rockin’ night in the Dome. The Saints were playing on their home field for the first time in 13 months, after Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped the building off the planet and became a symbol of human misery, government incompetence and people stepping to the fore to help total strangers, all wrapped into one.

The Saints were playing the Atlanta Falcons, their hated NFC South rival, that night on “Monday Night Football.” They might as well have simultaneously unleashed PETA, the city pound and the Humane Society all on Michael Vick, the disgraced former Falcons quarterback who later copped a plea deal for dogfighting.

The Saints blocked a first-quarter punt and scored in the game’s opening moments, with former defensive back Curtis DeLoach dunking the ball over the crossbar. It was obvious, then, what was going to happen. Bookies who took too much action on the Falcons probably split town and applied for the Witness Protection Program. The Falcons had no chance. The Saints won 23-3, and it might as well have been 103-3.

I remember hitting the streets of the French Quarter that night with former Sun Herald colleague Larry Holder and his buddies from his six or seven years as an LSU undergraduate. I’m not sure if the sun had come up by the time we all got back to our hotels. Didn’t matter. There were still plenty of folks on Bourbon Street. It was waaaay cool.

And it was just a warmup act for what’s going to happen in one week.
The Saints had an amazing season in 2006, reaching the NFC title game for the first time in franchise history. They didn’t get to the Super Bowl, of course, but they had a helluva run, losing in the bitter cold of Chicago’s Soldier Field. Sean Payton established himself as an innovative, offensive-minded coach. The Saints finally had their first big-time quarterback, at least the team’s first since Archie Manning, who the late Hank Stram dubbed “a franchise quarterback without a franchise.”

Drew Brees has changed the team’s dynamics since his arrival.

And Brees had yet another big game on Sunday in Tampa, Fla., passing sparingly but effectively for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Running backs Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell got in on the act, too, pounding the ball between the tackles. Zach Strief took over at left tackle and gave the Saints a solid effort. And defensively, the Saints intercepted three more passes and limited Tampa Bay to 290 yards total offense.

Saints 38, Bucs 7.

The Saints have won 10 consecutive games for the first time in club history. They’re one of the NFL’s two unbeaten teams.

And on Monday night, they’ll play host to Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, the closest thing to an NFL dynasty since the Cowboys of the early 90s or Joe Montana’s glory days with the 49ers.

Good luck if you’re trying to land some tickets. Unless, of course, you’re willing to fork over your Christmas bonus. The demand is going to exceed the supply, that’s for sure.

I listened to WWL Radio’s call of the game driving back from Jackson after the Ole Miss-LSU game on Saturday afternoon in Oxford. From time to time, though, I had to switch to Watercolors on XM/Sirius Radio, or maybe the ‘70s station.

It was over at halftime. Maybe before then.

Let the hype begin. The Patriots are coming to town.

Let the Hype Begin, the Patriots Are Coming to Town