QBREES9

METAIRIE – In one month, the New Orleans Saints will report to training camp to begin preparations for defending their Super Bowl championship. This comes in the wake of what appears to have been the longest victory lap in Super Bowl history.

The parade appearances, the book deals, the guest appearances on Letterman, Oprah, and Ellen, the round of golf at Pebble Beach, the ceremonial first pitches, the championship ring unveiling, the jersey number retirements, etc., have gone on almost from the moment the Lombardi Trophy was handed to Sean Payton until past the end of offseason workouts.

There’s still the business of a trip to the White House, but the celebrations are finally starting to fade away.

Perhaps no team has gotten or deserved this kind of recognition for a singular title. When you take into account the lengthy, generally unsuccessful history of this franchise and the remarkable turnaround and what it has meant to a community healing from Hurricane Katrina, this story has been unique.

The Saints, their fans, and others have milked this story for all it’s worth, and rightfully so. The passion of the local celebration matched the passion this area has always had for this team, a passion that intensified in recent years.

But this victory lap has extended far beyond the capital of the Who Dat Nation. Super Bowl MVPs always go immediately to Disney World, and often go on Leno or Letterman. But the additional perks for Drew Brees and his family are unusual, if not unprecedented. It’s all well-deserved, and it’s all great for Brees, his family, the Saints, and their fans.

Ultimately, though, the biggest challenge of the many faced by this group of Saints may well be the one that begins next month. Repeating as Super Bowl champions is more difficult than becoming Super Bowl champions. Among the reasons for that is all the distractions that come with celebrating the title and focusing on what happened last season when you would otherwise be focused on the season ahead.

The fact that the Saints have had an unusually lengthy and intense reflection on last season only increases the potential for distraction as they focus on the repeat. Whether the victory lap has any effect New Orleans’ attempt at repeating is something we won’t know until next season plays out, if we know then.

I wrote several times last season that this group of Saints never seemed unprepared to handle the uncharted territory it kept entering – they appeared to be NFC favorites even after losing their last three regular-season games, and they appeared nonplused by the circus of Super Bowl week, which was new to them but familiar to their opponent – the Indianapolis Colts.

The Saints shook off the three-game losing streak and blasted the Arizona Cardinals in their first playoff games. They overcame a sub-par performance to gut out an overtime victory against Minnesota in the NFC Championship. They overcame an early 10-0 deficit and a 17-16 deficit midway through the fourth quarter to knock off the favored Colts.

New Orleans adeptly handled all the challenges that came along because of mature leadership, from Payton to Brees, to Jonathan Vilma, to Gregg Williams, as well as the professionalism of countless others who followed their leaders. All of those key leaders are still in place as the next and biggest challenge approaches.

I wouldn’t expect them to be any less adept at handling this next challenge than they were at handling the others.

www.sportsshooter.com/johnjcoleman

" Anyone can take a picture Only a Photographer can take a photograph "

Rugby Saint II

Who Dat II! Just a month and then........