themightyduck

This has always been a burning question that I can never answer: Why are we so loyal to this team? How can we watch an embarassing Saints loss, vow to never cheer for them again, then watch them play the next week? We've all done this at one point or another in our lives. But why do we continue to root for them, even if we know that they'll probably lose again in heartbreaking fashion?

The Saints are like the Chicago Cubs of the NFL. We're the lovable losers, and the losing never stops. Like the Cubs, we're fiercely proud of our team, no matter where we live. People even convince themselves that because the Dome was built over a graveyard, it cursed our Saints, just like the Cubs' billy goat curse.

Why do we put ourselves through this suffering? Why do we go into the new season with high hopes of playoff appearances and (gasp!) Super Bowl victories only to have those dreams crushed before the 10th week of the season?

Why is it that the entire city becomes so affected by the outcome of a Saints win or loss that it affects people's work effeciency? It always seems that when the Saints win on Sunday, everyone is in a great mood all week. But when they lose, New Orleans completely shuts down and can't get out of this deep blue funk until the next Sunday.

To those of you who consider yourselves TRUE Saints fans: Why put up with this constant losing? Why do you vow to never root for the Saints again for as long as you live and then watch them the next week? Why are we the only fan base in probably all of sports that can bash our team silly one day and then love them like war heroes the next?


[Edited on 20/7/2004 by themightyduck]

dberce1

Totally agreed. And what\'s worse, in a game like the Colts debacle last year, you can\'t even stop watching the blow outs. I\'ll get pissed off, turn off the TV and go to a different room, only to turn it back on minutes later to watch the end.

Don\'t know if there\'s a reasoning for this. True, we usually stink year in and year out, but maybe that\'s why we\'re the best fans in the world. We yearn, oh yeah, we yearn...

themightyduck

I know how you feel, man. I myself vowed to never watch the Saints again after they lost to the then 1-13 Bengals. (THAT was an embarassing loss.) But then I watched them lose to Carolina next week, and I couldn\'t figure out why I still cared about them.

I can\'t believe the team\'s fan base didn\'t crumble after the 1980 season...

St.Shrume

I tell you why. Because as Saints fans we are not spoiled too badly yet. We do not expect the Super Bowl. We dream of it, hell ya. But we just are glad to make the playoffs.

We are a team that has only one playoff win in its history!! So if you are a fan, you MUST be hardcore, drunk, high, passionate or all of the above.

I think the only reason our hopes have grown is:

1. Our playoff win a few years back made us realize the Saint\'s curse can be broken....for a short while

2. The NFL has shown us that teams that are known to suck or lose can make it deep into the playoffs in any given year. This gives hope to all teams (even the Chargers and Bungles can think playoffs...why not?)

D_it_up

That was a great analogy of the Saints being the Chicago Cubs of the NFL, duck. I totally agree with you there, and here\'s why. I\'m also a Cubs fan. LOL. I must be a glutton for punishment when two of my favorite sports franchises are the Cubs and Saints. The Cubs have given me a little more hope the past two seasons with the new regime, a great general manager, and a young, vibrant pitching staff. The Steve Bartman debacle last year left me with a sickening feeling all through the off-season. They were that close to the dance, and like a geek on prom night, we\'re stuck without a date.

Now, as for why am I a fan? It\'s something I feel inside. I\'m one to root for the underdog, I guess. I always like to see the little guys do well. I was pulling for Todd Hamilton to win the British Open. I was rooting for Smarty Jones to win the Triple Crown. I was cheering for the Marlins last year (even though they beat the Cubs in the NL Championship) to beat the Evil Empire we call the Yankees. I\'m a sucker for the feel good stories of the year.

Another reason, is because it\'s what you grow up with. Being from Louisiana, you don\'t have many choices on baseball teams. It\'s the Rangers or Astros, because they are closest, or it\'s the Braves or Cubs because you got to see most of their games on T.V. My dad was a Braves fan, so I had to go the other way with it. The Cubs it was. My dad was also a Cowboys fan. I actually started off being a Steelers fan. Had a strong admiration for Terry Bradshaw and John Stallworth. Then when the Mora-era started, I began watching Saints games. For some reason, I started becoming engrossed with the Saints. Then it donned on me \"Hey! I kinda like these guys!\". No matter how heart-breaking a loss, no matter what stupid off-season move they make, or no matter what bonehead call a head coach makes during a game, I\'m still with them to the end.

I\'ve said this many times before (maybe not in here, but in real life), that Saints and Cubs fans are the BEST fans in the world because we\'ve had absolutely nothing to cheer for. It\'s like they like the foreplay, but don\'t want the orgasm. No matter what, I\'m a Saints fan. I\'ll curse them until the day I die, most likely, but they will always be MY \"America\'s Team\".

People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.

themightyduck

I think that the reason why we\'re so loyal to this team is probably because we\'re dying for a successful season. Aside from the Cardinals (but they don\'t really count as a team), we\'re the worst team in NFL history. That absence of winning can really leave a fan hungry for more.

dberce1 and St.Shrume exemplified this well. When your team wins it all, you\'ve reached the peak, and there\'s not much more to accomplish. Fans are happy, and a new season begins with higher expectations, better performances, and another championship hoped for. But Saints fans only see this scenario in our dreams. The Saints are probably light years away from even TWO playoff victories. In a city like Philadelphia, Miami, or Dallas, that\'s considered an underacheivement. But here, two playoff wins would be like three straight Super Bowl wins.

Because we want a Super Bowl ring so badly, we then keep up with every firing, hiring, signing, and release that the front office announces, all in hopes that it will help our team and lead us to the promised land. Red Sox fans act exactly like us when it comes to knowledge of our team.

And because the Saints are the oldest major league franchise in New Orleans, people are hooked to them. Our fathers rooted for the Saints, and we\'ve learned that passion from them. Now, our sons are becoming addicted to the team. So long as the Saints are in New Orleans (and when Tom Benson dies) the fan base will only strengthen year by year.

[Edited on 20/7/2004 by themightyduck]

[Edited on 20/7/2004 by themightyduck]

When it comes to discussing Saints losses, Jack Daniels can be a great listener.

subguy

To carry this one step further. I have never lived in New Orleans....it started as a joke for me in 1982. I was living in Cincy for the year and got caught up in their hype, the year Montana stuck a dagger in the Bengals heart in the Super Bowl. I was partying and told my friends I couldn\'t represent the Bungles after the loss.....I said, so you guys dont call me a bandwagon jumper I am going to be a Saints fan from that day. It started as a joke and I ended up waiting for the Monday paper to see the stats each week. I now live in Florida and have seen some successful Dolphins teams, a couple of decent Jags years and of course the Bucs win....and I have the DTV Football Package the first year it came out and haven\'t missed a game since. But I travel alot and have been to a couple of lounges and always find that one Saint fan watching the game. I have thrown things at the TV, sworn, knocked over furniture, punched every cushion on every couch multiple times but I keep coming back for more. For me, I loved a good Defense and the Saints were only known for that one thing, tough D. I have had every opportunity to get out and even save face doing so, but not me, I weather the storm year in, year out. I think to some degree everyone likes the Rudy,the underdog. For me the frustration will all be worth it when the big one is ours. However, I figure I have lived more than half of my friggin\' life so they need to get their asses in gear.

[Edited on 20/7/2004 by subguy]

[Edited on 20/7/2004 by subguy]

Don't want em to get your goat don't show em where it's hid.

CheramieIII

Saints fans have a alot of HOPE, we always hold hope for next year. COURAGE to watch the Saints first playoff butt whipin to the end. PERSISTENCE and never giving up even when you get taunted for being a Saints fan by people who don\'t even know football, namely my six year old daughter. Most of all we are STUPID enough to know this year, is the year we forget the past and bask in the glory of Disneyworld after we win The Game.

It\'s our year and we all know it. It\'s finally next year.

Puddinhead

Simple. It\'s like I recently heard a fan from another town say about his team...it\'s the same thing you feel about your son. You don\'t love him because he\'s good--you love him because he\'s yours.

Danno

Well put.
I grew up a Braves fan. It seemed like they sucked EVERY stinking year. But they were my team. Well they finally started winning in the 90\'s and actually won a world series. So I know it CAN be done.

I\'m now officially fixated on my boys in black and gold. They WILL win a championship soon. I can feel it. If theres any justice at all in this world they\'ll win more than one.