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The NFL and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation co-hosted a press luncheon Tuesday to announce the schedule of events for Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3. When Frank Supovitz, the NFL vice president of events, took the podium, a part of me wondered if he might announce the game had been moved to another city.

It might not be such a bad idea. Bountygate and the acrimonious relationship it has fostered between the NFL and the New Orleans Saints has ensured this will be the ugliest, most awkward and uncomfortable Super Bowl ever.

Super Bowl XLVII will be a record-tying 10th hosted by New Orleans. But it will be far from a perfect 10.

The bitterness between the Saints and NFL will see to that.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has become Public Enemy No. 1 in the city. He makes former FEMA director Michael Brown seems like a Crescent City hero by comparison.



I can't think of another person so universally despised in the city.

Even the normally senatorial Drew Brees has taken issue. On Wednesday, the Saints quarterback said Goodell had "no credibility" with many NFL players and fans and accused the league of unaccountability in its handling of the bounty probe.

This wasn't Rasheed Wallace going after David Stern. Or David Wells blasting Bud Selig. This was one of the game's preeminent stars and ambassadors taking out the knees of a man he roomed with on a USO Tour of Iraq and Afghanistan just four years ago.

And we all know when Brees talks, New Orleans listens. And follows.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio kidded that Goodell might need a Popemobile to safely navigate the city during Super Bowl week. Others have suggested Goodell hire a taste tester for his meals.

They jest but only slightly.

The openly hostile relationship between the Saints and NFL is unprecedented in pro sports. The only one comparable might be the decade-long feud between the Raiders and NFL back in the 1980s, when owner Al Davis repeatedly sued the NFL and actually testified against it in federal court.

Some have even called the Saints the modern-day version of those Raiders for their perceived defiant, renegade attitudes.

Sports Illustrated NFL columnist Don Banks wrote "some within the league see the potential for (Saints Coach Sean) Payton to be this generation's Al Davis, perhaps filling the now-vacated role of Official Thorn in the League's Side, with Davis gone."

This defiant attitude has saturated the organization. According to testimony by former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in the bounty appeals hearing, assistant head coach Joe Vitt refused to end the club's bounty program and launched into a profanity-filled speech about how Goodell "wasn't going to ... tell us to ... stop doing what won us the Super Bowl."


Creole Creamery owner David Bergeron has a picture of NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell telling employees not to serve him.
Catherine Threlkeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
This didn't just start with the bounty scandal. Long before Mike Cerullo became a household name, the Saints' pattern of behavior and frequent invitations to controversy had made them few allies in the NFL office.

Bountygate only brought the simmer to a boil. It was the 212th degree.

Multiple sources have said a meeting this spring between Goodell and Payton in New York grew confrontational. Another source said Tom Benson privately lashed into Goodell this summer about his treatment of the club.

The level of antagonism has reached the point that General Manager Mickey Loomis insisted the league give him written permission before starting negotiations with Payton about a contract extension.

ESPN reporter Ed Werder recently tweeted that Benson has pondered suing the league if Payton is allowed to leave and sign with the Dallas Cowboys in the offseason.

Goodell, meanwhile, does not appear to be in a conciliatory mood.

When asked his reaction to Brees' comments at a press conference at the NFL owners meetings in suburban Dallas on Wednesday, he said "I'm not going to resist my obligation to do what's best for the game long-term."

His comment comes on the heels of a Time magazine cover story in which he said of Bountygate, "I don't make apologies for taking a strong position on this."

This all sets the stage for one of the most fascinating Super Bowl weeks in history. For the first time, the NFL Experience could feature an egg toss and dart board. And it's only six weeks away. I wonder how long it takes to reserve a Popemobile?

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SmashMouth

Goodell's wheels in New Orleans for the SB.

HouYat

Do you think he can eat, sleep, and watch the Super Bowl from that thing? He's gonna need to!

QBREES9

Some boys from Jersey should take him for a ride.

saintsfan1976

No Coach

No Season

NO SERVICE

I'm making T Shirts!!

dizzle88

If we win in a playoff game next season, look for goodell to swap some rules around just like he did when we beat the Vikings

SloMotion

AGREED.

Mardigras9

That is hilarious.
Oh well, he made his bed. He better just sneak into town on gameday this year. Maybe after the halftime show.

RailBoss

I can imagine that RG's security team will increase on his visit.
Maybe he will ride in with Gregg Williams and throw him out of the motorcade
as a sacrifice.

QBREES9

Bitter I wouldn't say bitter. PISSED OFF AS ALL HELL yeah that the way I feel.