Well keep in mind the media has to have their little storylines in place heading into the Super Bowl. The "connected to the city" thing is starting to wear a bit thin IMO. It's more than a little disingenuous to see old man Benson out there celebrating the NFC championship and talking about what it means to the city when he was more than willing to sell the team down the river (or across the country) before Katrina when little baby wanted his brand new stadium. The other one is how the all-great, all-knowing, all-powerful Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, and Johnny Unidas-rolled-into-one, best QB of this or any other era Peyton Manning is going to steamroll the Saints. There really seems to be a concerted effort over the last few days to let this game be his coronation among the greats and cement his legacy, where just 2 weeks ago this was supposed to be one of the best SB matchups ever. Now, if you listen to the talking heads, the Saints might as well not even have bothered to show up in Miami they'll be so humiliated. And I really don't get it, b/c the Colts haven't been blowing out any good teams all season, and to be perfectly honest, I think the Saints played and beat a better overall team than the Colts in the Vikings.
Nope, I just haven't changed that. Went to LSU from 04-08 and was living in Baton Rouge up until 3 weeks ago. Considering before this season most people would classify their relationship with the Saints as "off and on" no I don't. Every city rallies around its team when they go to the Super Bowl. "Who Dat Nation" is no different to me than "Dirty Bird" mania in 1998, or any other team that has made a run to the Super Bowl. I'd argue that Philadelphia, Buffalo, and the New York market supports their team way more than the Saints fans who until this season were always expecting the worst. The fact that Drew Brees mentions Katrina in every post-game interview doesn't help. Funnily enough, the Colts have a starter playing who was actually here during that time and actively helping in Joseph Addai. He knows more about the effects of Katrina than Drew Brees ever could, but since Brees hammers in a nail on a United Way commercial and mentions it after every game, the media has run away with "the spirit of New Orleans" story. Not to trivialize the hurricane, but I do feel that too much has been made about sports' effect on rebuilding. Sports is a diversion, it's not a cure all. Drew Brees needs to shut up about it IMO. It was 4 and a half years ago and he wasn't even here. /a Falcons fan's .02
Across the entire state of Louisiana, no doubt the New Orleans Saints. This is much bigger than LSU winning the National Championship. And that's taking nothing away from LSU winning it twice in this decade. It was an amazing feat and one we will never forget. But make no bones about it, the Saints winning a Super Bowl is otherworldly. It is beyond our wildest dreams. No contest.
I disagree with the 1st statement. Hell, they only show Saints games in North Louisiana when the Cowboys aren't playing. Go to Wild Wings here in Baton Rouge and half or more of the place is filled with Cowboy fans. You go to the beach anywhere along the Gulf Coast and you see LSU, not the Saints. Saints winning the Superbowl is otherwordly. Never seen so many Saints fans in my life. I saw my 1st Saints street sale outside of N.O. ever the other day, it was like seeing a ghost. :lol:
2000 football season. Saint win the division, and host a 1st round playoff game. Saints needed to be granted an extension TWICE just to sell out the game. Needed extra days to get up to 78,0000 for a PLAYOFF game. LSU gets 90,0000+ to show up against a 1AA school in September. in a city considerably smaller than NOLA was at the time.
LSU by far. The Tigers have decades of tradition. People like me grew up listening to Tiger games on the radio when ABC had the "Game of the Week" and you could only count on seeing the Tigers 2-3 times a year. In the 70s the Tigers were "THE" team in every parish throughout the whole state of Louisiana. The Saints are my favorite NFL team. Have been since the 80s. I am thrilled for their success right now and would be so happy for a SB win. Having said that, they will never have that same appeal to me that the Tigers have. A Tiger NC means more although a Saints championship would be special because it seemed like something that just couldn't happen. As a kid I'm not sure the the Saints were the most popular NFL team in the state back then outside of N.O. I grew up in North LA and the Saints were a distant third to Landry's Cowboys and local hero Terry Bradshaw's Steelers. (Maybe even fourth to the Houston Oilers) I think that there were a lot of folks back then who liked the Saints, but since the Saints never got much positive momentum going they would pull for Terry and the Steelers and curse the Cowboys who were on their TV screens in place of the Saints every Sunday. My late father in law was like that.
Overall Id say LSU. College football is the best sport there is. Most of the top colleges have a much bigger following than NFL teams. Although overall the NFL is more popular as a whole. That said, the Saints winning it all will be far bigger than LSU winning it all. The Saints are symbolic of the state sticking together after the storms of '05. Add to that the futility of 40+ years. Ive always been a LSU fan as long as I can remember but I wont lie, I had never cheered for the Saints until after Katrina. Wanting to bring some joy to the city. Since then Ive always cheered them.
Here's a real big clue....LSU season tickets are a lot more expensive than Saints season tickets. I remember leaving a Saints game once and the crowd around me was yelling "L S U...L S U !!"
