Saints – A Generation Of Patience

Freddie Brister — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:30:50 +0000

For the New Orleans Saints, the Louisiana representative of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC), life in the National Football League (NFL) has been one long exercise in patience. Since their establishment as an expansion franchise in 1966, the Saints have been on an upward trajectory – but one with a very slight uphill grade. It took them more than ten years to manage a break-even season, and another decade beyond that to finally have their first season with more wins than defeats. They didn’t manage a playoff victory until the 2000 campaign. Saints fans have had to endure far more downs than ups over the last four decades as their team struggled to find its place in an NFL dominated by concepts of parity, but throughout it all, patience has been the byword.

The shame of it all

Of course, the team is nowhere near as sad these days as it was in the sorrow-filled NFL months during the 1980 campaign. With a team that began the season with a 0-14 record, fans all but gave up on the franchise. Oh, they continued to show up for each game, but were so overcome with shame at their team’s performance on the field that they took to wearing paper bags over their faces. Thought this expression might have easily faded into NFL history, it was instead embraced by other fans in the League – and throughout sports – whose teams suffer through prolonged periods of mediocrity.

Rising waters and success

The coming of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 marked a low point for the Saints in recent history. The waters in New Orleans had made the team’s stadium unfit for NFL play, which then forced the team to compete on the road throughout the entire season. As you might expect, this made an uphill climb even steeper, and the team wound up losing thirteen of its sixteen games. It almost seemed pointless to bother with the cries of “wait ’til next year”. But as the SuperDome became fit for play in 2006, the team found that everything had changed. They enjoyed a magical season that saw them not only win the South, but earn a berth in the NFC championship game. Despite being beaten by Chicago – a game short of the Super Bowl – fans of the team were sure that they would be back soon and eventually compete for the NFL title.

The road to the Super Bowl

As it turned out, the Saints would have to reverse fortunes once again before they could leap forward. They went from an outstanding 2006 season – one game from the Super Bowl – to a couple of pathetic performances in 2007 and 2008. The fans’ hopes were just about dashed again when the Saints suddenly began the 2009 campaign by rattling off thirteen victories in a row. Their 13-3 record sent them to the playoffs, the NFC Championship, and then on to the Super Bowl. In that Forty-Fourth Super Bowl, the Colts were the prohibitive favorites, as Peyton Manning once again seemed flawless throughout the year. Once again defying the odds, the Saints dismantled Peyton’s team and won their first ever Super Bowl. In so doing, they proved that even if patience is all you sometimes have, it is still enough to eventually receive your just reward.

Freddie Brister is a huge fan of all sports and recommends checking out his New Orleans Saints Bedding and MLB blanket at his shop.

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Peyton Manning Vs. Brees Will Turn Out To Be Everything We Expect

Fred Slattery — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:15:41 +0000

Many will tell you that the key to a football team’s success is its quarterback. After all, someone who can successfully find receivers is bound to put points on the scoreboard for his team. Still, others will tell you that it’s defense that wins championships. This year, though, was the year of the quarterback.

Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are believed by many to be the best two quarterbacks in football. Typically drafted before any others in fantasy leagues, the two of them are reliably consistent year in and year out, giving their teams the best offensive units in football. When they go head to head at this year’s Super Bowl, we’re going to see a battle of quarterbacks above all else.

These have both been great teams throughout the year. In fact, they were the last two teams to lose a regular season game and many were predicting undefeated years for both of them after they remained undefeated well into December.

Now, they have a chance to showcase their abilities once more in a game that is sure to result in a very high final score. This will be an offensive battle at its finest in Miami.

While both of them lost a few games during the last few weeks of the season, many would attribute this to the fact that they no longer needed to win more games in order to secure home field advantage.

Experts usually look at the defensive units when it comes to the Super Bowl. They say that defense wins championships, but neither of these quarterbacks seem to be hindered by an effective defense.

Recent champions have all resulted from highly proficient defenses and while both the Colts and Saints are efficient defensively, their defensive performances won’t matter much since each quarterback seems to be effective no matter what.

As a result, this year’s Super Bowl should be a classic battle that lives up to its expectations. Fans of the sport will be in for a treat, as the best two teams in football will be vying for the championship.

In addition to the NFL, this writer also frequently blogs about solar swimming pool panels and solar panels prices.

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Saints – A Generation Of Patience

Peyton Manning Vs. Brees Will Turn Out To Be Everything We Expect