Once upon a time things were not like they are today. Once upon a time, I thought today would never come. It is like when Owen Wilson said in Armageddon "OK, so the scariest environment imaginable. Thanks, that's all you gotta say..." It is much the same here because while we are eager about what the next few weeks hold, it is the Wednesday before NFL armageddon and its kind of the scariest environment imaginable. I mean Louisiana and Mississippi believe in Favre for 20 years, believe Peyton Manning to be capable of anything for a decade, and now each of them are like Canyons of razor-sharp rock, Unpredictable gravitational conditions, Unexpected eruptions, things like that and that scares the crap out of us.
Once upon a time fans down here cheered like hell for about 9 weeks until the saints were all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. There were spikes on our Super Bowl monitor from time to time but inevitably we resigned to cheering on our next favorite team in the NFL... that being the Green Bay Favres for Mississippians, the Indianapolis Peytons for Louisianians, and the New York Eli's for both states... After all, Mississippi has no NFL team, so Mississippians are forced to ignore the "LIG" (as John Clayton calls the "League"), choose at random a team to cheer for, choose according to what team has a State or Ole Miss player near to their heart.. Or do as many Mississipians have for decades and join Who Dat Nation!
Once upon a time our worlds had yet to collide... We now face the task fighting our way to hallowed ground through none other than Prodigal Brett and Maestro Manning.
I love all that comes with the phrase, "The more things change, the more they stay the same" The NFL could possibly be the perfect exception slash perfect example of this because of its being predictably unpredictable. I mean parity defines this league yet we have 3 of the top four regular season teams alive and well. The anti-parity is the Colts perfect season which ended at the hands of the Jets ([once considered the worst team in the playoffs]. Colts v. Jets in this years double jeopardy irony game). Oh and insiders predict a lockout in the near future, which no one on the outside would have predicted.
Who Dat Nation doesn't just have a story of misfortunes, it has a woeful history of being so irrelevant that it is relevant. While Manning Nation was so relevant for the first half of the last decade, that its consistent and predictable success made it irrelevant during the regular season. While Favre Nation has rammed its way into relevance in such bizarre and uncomfortable ways that many choose to ignore its relevance.
Does Who Dat Nation have baggage?
lets see... do you mean other than the obvious title-less past, bag over the head, our kicker is our best player, reggie isn't who we thought he was, deuce is done, Manning that created the Maestro, weird ditka/rickie era, three name QB era, throw your helmet, super bowl city with never having been to a super bowl (not even a bridesmaid), and on and on and on... lets see there is something else... oh yeah... an EPIC FLOOD!
I hate to do this because of the position I have long taken against the 2004 red sox championship and because 86 years is pretty damn long to hope and care only to be disappointed. But all things considered the Red Sox fans were on the ledge, 9th inning, down a run, and preparing for year 87 the same as their grandparents prepared for years 2-86 with the phrase "the more things change, the more they stay the same". a steal here, an RBI single, and homerun later, the Red Sox fans took in new air and said with new hope, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." 7 games later, their identity changed. an organization and its followers so comfortable with being supremely relevant for their record of irrelevance, became relevant for all the right reasons. For the Red Sox There was no better way to end such a streak of poverty than by beating the Yankees, who are the very symbol of consistency, success, and the right kind of relevance.
I bring this to bear because Favre and Manning stand in the way of what the Who Dat Nation stands to gain. And all though they have little to do with the Saints lack of success, they have everything to do with the reputation of success and the right kind of relevance, and because they are La/Miss back-up plan. The Saints have the opportunity to end the "Woe is Me" era, destroy the Who Dat Nation's "post-season mistresses"(Favre then P. Manning) in consecutive games, and begin the era of the "Right Kind of Relevant".
This is the way it should be.
This weekend, the south will stand still. When the game ends in New Orleans, no matter the outcome, there will be a moment of silence in the soul of every man, woman, and child of the Who Dat Nation. Like the eye of a hurricane, there will be a moment of silence that gives way chaos. Chaos wrought by crushing despair or by immeasurable joy. This is not to say it is enough to just get there but rather that I believe if/when we get there, there is no way we lose.
Tupac Shakur, wrote "I guess change is good for any of us... Whatever it take for any of y'all to get up out the hood."
Here's to leaving the hood and chaos wrought by immeasurable joy.
May the Lord make the Saints fast and accurate.
Strength and Honor
tdavidshaw
gotta give 'em what they want.
who dat say de go'n beat dem saints.
