skymike

("Vintage Fans, haha... Like that?)

This one's for YOU. You are one of our best resources here at blackandgold.com, and I am glad you are here.

--Tell us a Tulane Stadium Story.
--Also, I'd like to know if you really liked the old stadium.
--and one more thing: Do you think the modern Saints Fans could
take the elements there now?

I think it would toughen us up, and I think losing some amenities would turn more of the focus on the football. I think we'd actually be even better fans.

I could be totally full of it.

44Champs

OK, I'm not "old" but here are my memories there as a kid from both the Tulane and Saints games:

1) Fans stomping on the metal bleachers in unison while chanting "Block that kick, block that kick". Damn that stadium would get loud!

2) The beer vendors wearing Dixie Jet Packs and watching them pour and drink beer straight from the hand-held spigot

3) I remember thinking Archie Manning was the next best thing to Superman out on the field

foreverfan

It was December 10, 1972 New England Patroits game.
Jim Plunkett was in his 2nd year as QB of the Pats. This was my 1st actual Saints game and I was 14. It was late in the season and the Saints sucked so naturally my friend'd dad had some tickets left over and took us. After the game, we went down and saw the players leave. I got to see Plunkett up close. He was actually much uglier in person.

Personally, I think the dome can't be beat. I love the fact that it's indoors and you don't have the heat, rain, sun, wind all of which means that you are sitting on an aluminum bench without a back.

GIVE ME THE DOME. Plus the dome has easier traffic flow around it.

2019 Death of a Parrot.

st thomas

i was there on the opening of the saints game i was 9 or 10. my old man was well looped and i did'nt know if it were the stadium swaying or him. gillium ran back a kick it was crazy.there was passionate fans from the start. we were brand new, it was 1967

jeanpierre

Mom and Dad were barely getting by; Dad managed a local industrial supply business...

They get invited by some people on a "business trip" to watch the Saints in Tulane Stadium; weather was cold/nasty so they left with their hosts...

While arriving at a restaurant, Antoine's or one of the old line restaurants, there was a big commotion; Dempsey had just kick the then longest field goal in NFL history to beat the Lions...

My parents hosts told my parents they were only making one mistake today; they eventually helped Dad establish his business and he did well for thirty years till he past away...

It's not that my way is the right way, I just make the right way my way...

skymike

Man!!! If we're still doing renovations in the Dome-- people, this is a must. Forget the amenities, I want stompable bleachers!

Why??? Why do we not still have this??? some namby pamby rule, I'm sure. This is outstanding.
Archie is getting a whole thread to himself here soon. I think Archie got forgotten during our SB year, and I think its time to give him the love.
Cool stuff, FF. That guy deserved his SB ring, which he didnt get till 12 years afterward. and he was one ugly mo'. Good thing he was a QB, or he'd never have found a lady. Kind of like musicians, huh Strato?Wait, did those aluminum benches have any more butt room than my Terrace seat? I dont know, FF, I sure would like stompable bleachers.never thought about that. wow. I probably wouldnt get back to Houston till 3am. great post, thanks!
hahaha... pure poetry right there, thanks much Tom.
You are not serious. That is right out of Forrest Gump, JP. You cant make that kind of stuff up.

Well, already this thread is online gold. Remember who started it.

nevergiveup3

Love the thread.... So many memories.... The beer induced brain cell loss didnt really begin until the dome....

I remember taking my very first date to a Saints pre-season game.... Only it was one of those August monsoon rains.... We huddled under the umbrella for the first half... I asked her if she wanted to leave and she gave me one of those "what ever you want"... So naturally we stayed..... Women should really say want they really want.... Never had a date again with that one....lol...

But what I remember the most was that first or second year... the atmosphere was almost like a Super Bowl.... Al Hirt leading the cheers... Mardi Gras Floats and baloons and the pigeons... It was electric....

Jimmy Taylor being introduced... the place would explode

Steve Stonebreaker getting into a fight in New York (I know this is about Tulane Stadium.. but hang in there) and when they returned there was a group collecting money outside of Tulane Stadium to pay his fine.

The debates over Billy Kilmer (who I loved).... Trivia question answer... the first Saint to ever be booed...

The game we held OJ under 100 yard (he forgot his knife)... and the 17 minute delay against Philly (I think) because we were so loud....

I do love the dome but every now and then when it is 75 degrees and sunny on a Sunday afternoon in late September, my thoughts do drift back.....

primadox

Wow, great thread, Mike. I remember the Youth tickets that were something like $15 for season tickets...those wonderful, LOUD metal bleachers that burned your butt if it was a sunny day...the stadium swaying...my mom hauling her very pregnant self to the games in '71, swearing that she'd have that baby at the stadium and have them announce that Billy Kilmer had returned to Tulane Stadium (yes, my sister would have been named Billy if she was a boy)...going to a preseason game against the Lions during a tropical depression (missing the game never crossed our minds)...when fans behind us would scream "We want Hargett", and my sister and I would scream back "No we don't!!"...the beer vendors with the jet packs...the halftime shows: ostrich races, REAL marching bands, a re-enactment of the Battle of New Orleans when a cannon backfired and blew off three fingers of one of the re-enactor soldiers...Danny Abramowicz running into the bushes in the end zone...and again, that stadium literally rocking. That thing would MOVE.

Ah, good times. The Dome is magical in it's own way, but so was Tulane Stadium. I'd love to see some metal bleachers in the terrace; that would be a blast...but in all likelihood some drunken fools would stand on them and tumble down to the field, LOL. Frankly, I think a lot of our fans who have jumped on the bandwagon in the last couple of years would not be willing to brave the elements at Tulane Stadium, especially if the Saints weren't having a great year. They'd say they're "big Saints fans", but when it comes down to a lack of winning and comfort, I don't think they'd stick around...bandwagon jockeys, for sure.

Good times, good memories.

Kellye in Houston
8:43 CST, Feb. 7, 2010 - When the Saints came marching in!

HouYat

Love the posts on this thread, Mike. For me, go back to a sunny, hot September day in 1967. I'm standing on the field in the northwest corner of the end zone next to one of the cars that Paretti Pontiac had on display right next to the field (this would never happen today....cars on the field and me on the sideline!) My dad had a moving company back then and we would move the Saints equipment every week and get field passes. The crowd was really pumped, not only for the regular season opener but also for the fact that the Saints had gone 5-1 in preseason games. So at that point, the NFL crown seemed to be ours (Ha!). Rams kick off to John Gilliam, who breaks through the front line of Rams defenders and untouched, and he's off to the races, coming straight to the side of the field where I was standing. I had never heard such a loud and thunderous noise in my life, it was unbelievably loud! When he scored and turned to go to the sidelines, I could swear he hadn't even broken into a sweat on his 94-yard run! At that point we just knew that we would win that game, but that didn't happen. This was the NFL and the games were now for real, a rude awakening into the league. Roman Gabriel had a good day, and the Rams running game wore the Saints down to give us an opening day loss. But our spirits weren't dampened at all since it seemed like we always had 80,000 screaming fans at all the games.
Billy Kilmer, Jimmy Taylor, Doug Atkins, Flea Roberts, Charlie Durkee (everybody called him Charlie Turkey), Danny A, The Wheel Ernie Wheelwright, Little O Obert Logan, Dave Whitsell, there were so many names that became fan favorites that first year.

I've got tons more memories, a lot of bad ones, but some great ones also. That will have to be covered in future posts.

Thanks for this thread, Mike. Great stuff for the offseason.

skymike

Primadox, HouYat, NGU! (and thanks for the Turbo Dogs, Lynwood.)
I knew you Yats wouldnt disappoint. Thanks for popping in & teaching me some things, as well as probably ringing up some real memories for other posters & lurkers.

Honestly, the more I know, the more realize I dont know, and my curiosity
drives me bananas:

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

...that first or second year... the atmosphere was almost like a Super Bowl.... Al Hirt leading the cheers... Mardi Gras Floats and baloons and the pigeons... It was electric...

Did I hear that opposing teams were complaining about Al Hirt? Was he a part owner? And I also heard Pete Fountain was there? I'd like to hear more about Al Hirt & Pete Fountain.

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

Steve Stonebreaker getting into a fight in New York (I know this is about Tulane Stadium.. but hang in there) and when they returned there was a group collecting money outside of Tulane Stadium to pay his fine...

I've heard about Stonebreaker, and I cant remember what was special about the fight. I'll bet there's no video.

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

The debates over Billy Kilmer (who I loved).... Trivia question answer... the first Saint to ever be booed....

I'm sure I would have been Pro-Kilmer. Im usually Pro- whoever everybody else is hating on. except kickers.

Originally Posted by primadox

I remember the Youth tickets that were something like $15 for season tickets...

Can you imagine somebody proposing something like that now?

Originally Posted by primadox

those wonderful, LOUD metal bleachers that burned your butt if it was a sunny day...the stadium swaying...

HAHAHAHA! never thought about that, but I still WANT stompable bleachers back.

--when yall talk about the stadium swaying, you're exaggerating, right?

Originally Posted by primadox

...going to a preseason game against the Lions during a tropical depression (missing the game never crossed our minds)...

Does anyone else remember the Giants game in the 80's as a Hurricane was coming? John Madden does. He was scared, and said he wished see thru the roof, and know what was coming.

Originally Posted by primadox

the beer vendors with the jet packs...

those jet packs again -- we need these now!
... If I owned a bar where Saints fans hung out...

Originally Posted by primadox

Frankly, I think a lot of our fans who have jumped on the bandwagon in the last couple of years would not be willing to brave the elements at Tulane Stadium, especially if the Saints weren't having a great year.

You know I'd be there, regardless. Remember our 2 Reliant tailgates. 1st one cold and rainy. 2nd one 400 degrees. Say hi to Drew!

Originally Posted by HouYat

I'm standing on the field in the northwest corner of the end zone next to one of the cars that Paretti Pontiac had on display right next to the field .

You have to show up on a video somewhere.

Originally Posted by HouYat

...it seemed like we always had 80,000 screaming fans at all the games...

Ah, this brings me to a big architectural question I've had for the longest. This drives my brain bananas.

Take the roof off the Dome, and just show the bowl. (man, I wish there was a way to draw or doodle here) How do you get 80,000 in Tulane Stadium, which appears 50-100 feet shorter than the bowl of the Dome, and the Dome holds 72,000? Even w/o the roof the Dome looks twice as big. I drove by Rice Stadium last week, and thought the same thing. My corner endzone Terrace seats dont even exist in Rice. Its like Tiger Stadium, where the sides go up, but the bowl just has the lower level. boggles my mind.

--and heres another Tulane question: I notice in pictures, Tulane seems to be built in sections, not all at once. Did these sections appear while the Saints played there, or was it all there by the '67? Did they HAVE to put some new sections for the Saints?

Were there bad seats?

Classic posts from classic posters. Thank you much!