New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - A Who Dat manifesto to get us through this

I, like many of my fellow Who Dat Nation, have had an extremely taxing week on my emotions and psyche. Not only have we endured a history-making blunder in the NFC Championship game, but we also have had to endure our fellow man telling us how small we are for caring so much about our team and that we should just accept this injustice.

https://i.nola.com/resizer/wI0P_QNfN...2O66D6DUB4.JPG

After reading just about every article related to this matter, I have developed a manifesto of sorts to get us through this, a black and golden rule, if you will:

1) BUY LOCAL — Do not in any way support merchandise sales of anything with an NFL shield. We live in a city with some of the most artistic and creative minds in small business, there are plenty of ways for us to support our team without having to pay our tithes to Scrooge McDuck.

2) RIGHT vs. WRONG — I have two young children and in no way would I ever allow to them to tell me that they are excused from a wrong deed by bringing up other injustices done to them. People throughout the nation talk about how embarrassing we look and that we deserve to eat crow for our role in Bountygate or our commitment of earlier penalties in the NFC Championship game. I am embarrassed by those individuals who would make excuses for an egregious error this gigantic in proportion. Well "they did this" or "they did that" is not an acceptable excuse.

3) MEMORIES — These mean everything! I vividly remember the Saints' magical Super Bowl winning season. While nice to win a trophy, what I remember most is the camaraderie this city exhibited over the entirety of that season and the sharing of that experience in a massive black and gold parade. That same sense of togetherness permeated throughout the region this season. This city and the team share a bond that is much more valuable than any piece of metal can ever replace. What matters most in life is being part of something bigger than ourselves, be it in the form of family, friends or an unwavering Who Dat Nation.

NOLA