The New Orleans Saints and the WhoDat Nation: Why it matters to us!
Last weekend while watching the Saints play the Philadelphia
Eagles in a wildcard road playoff game, I was taken aback by the number of
people from this area pulling for the Eagles.
Not because they liked the Eagles particularly, but they just wanted to
see the Saints lose. When I pressed for a reason, there was nothing concrete
but they were sick of hearing about the Saints and the WhoDat nation. Now having been a Saints fan for a really
long time, I really don't get that because the majority of fans are not
obnoxious. We are long standing and long
suffering fans who have been there pulling for our team even during the days of
the paper bag. We didn't stop supporting
them even though they were not a good
team for a really long time. They had their
moments and often had great players but never seemed to be able to put together
the whole package. That all changed and
when it did, the Saints pulled off something that the faithful knew one day
would happen. They won the Superbowl.
Although winning a Superbowl is old hat for some teams and for some fans, what I don't think they realize about the Saints and their Superbowl win was just how monumental that was, especially because of the timing. In 2005, New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Many lives were lost and with a mass exodus of the population away from the devastated area, a community became fractured. It seemed like there wasn't anything that would put it back together but when the Saints returned to the Superdome for their first home game after Katrina, they brought back a sense of hope to this shattered area and breathed life back into the city and the community. This community, this WhoDat nation, became united, not just in the promise of a winning team, but in the promise that we could overcome the devastation of Katrina. We were able to immerse ourselves in watching them play while we took time to heal the wounds and rebuild. It allowed us to escape for a few hours every Sunday from the ruin and loss that we were all reeling from. As each year post-Katrina passed, the Saints continued to give us hope and a dream; a dream that a realistic run for the Superbowl was coming. And when the Saints delivered that with a win at Superbowl XLIV, the WhoDat nation, this community of Saints fans healed. Maybe we didn't heal completely, but we healed Because in the years during the run for the superbowl, we got through weekend by weekend, looking forward to those games and during the offseason, looking forward to the football season to come. It gave us something to focus on that was positive and uplifting. And the Saints showed us that we could all overcome the adversity brought to us by Katrina. As for me, I believe. It doesn't matter to me that you don't, I only ask that you look at the people who call themselves Saints fans and understand why it matters so much. The Saints are not just a football team to us and the Who Dat Nation is not just a fan base. We are a community. We are survivors. We are a family. A family of believers. Last weekend, the Saints did something that had not happened in the their history. We won a playoff game on the road and overcame yet another monkey on our back. So, We believe: We believe in the hope, healing and goodness that can be brought on by caring about a little game called football and in a team called the New Orleans Saints. Can I get a Who Dat and an Amen?
Although winning a Superbowl is old hat for some teams and for some fans, what I don't think they realize about the Saints and their Superbowl win was just how monumental that was, especially because of the timing. In 2005, New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Many lives were lost and with a mass exodus of the population away from the devastated area, a community became fractured. It seemed like there wasn't anything that would put it back together but when the Saints returned to the Superdome for their first home game after Katrina, they brought back a sense of hope to this shattered area and breathed life back into the city and the community. This community, this WhoDat nation, became united, not just in the promise of a winning team, but in the promise that we could overcome the devastation of Katrina. We were able to immerse ourselves in watching them play while we took time to heal the wounds and rebuild. It allowed us to escape for a few hours every Sunday from the ruin and loss that we were all reeling from. As each year post-Katrina passed, the Saints continued to give us hope and a dream; a dream that a realistic run for the Superbowl was coming. And when the Saints delivered that with a win at Superbowl XLIV, the WhoDat nation, this community of Saints fans healed. Maybe we didn't heal completely, but we healed Because in the years during the run for the superbowl, we got through weekend by weekend, looking forward to those games and during the offseason, looking forward to the football season to come. It gave us something to focus on that was positive and uplifting. And the Saints showed us that we could all overcome the adversity brought to us by Katrina. As for me, I believe. It doesn't matter to me that you don't, I only ask that you look at the people who call themselves Saints fans and understand why it matters so much. The Saints are not just a football team to us and the Who Dat Nation is not just a fan base. We are a community. We are survivors. We are a family. A family of believers. Last weekend, the Saints did something that had not happened in the their history. We won a playoff game on the road and overcame yet another monkey on our back. So, We believe: We believe in the hope, healing and goodness that can be brought on by caring about a little game called football and in a team called the New Orleans Saints. Can I get a Who Dat and an Amen?
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