Eagles fans in the French Quarter?
I see what you mean, but maybe it's hard for me to understand approaching the season and deciding "which ticket to sell".
It’s very easy, actually.
Schedule released May 15th. At this point we’re four months into a nonstop offseason pummeling of Dennis Allen by the fan base.
Everybody takes a look…
“Panthers, week 1. They won 2 games last season, it’s the opening game, it’s at home. I should probably go to that game. The Saints are probably going to win, even if I’m not the biggest fan of the coach or QB, they should best those guys.”
“Eagles, week 3. The Eagles went to the playoffs last year. I’m one of the 84% of fans who don’t think the team will be any good this year, so why bother going to a game where a playoff team is gonna kick their tails right after the Cowboys do so on the road. I have better things I could do on a Sunday afternoon than watch that crap. I’m going to list those tickets ASAP.”
Again, what happened Sunday was an embarrassment to not only the city, but the faithful fan base.
The faithful fan base has been anything but that this offseason. When you’re as optimistic about the team as I’ve been, you’re pejoratively referred to as a sunshine pumper - and as a woman I’ve had the additional “honor” of at least one poster wondering if I’m this positive about the Saints because sleeping with someone on the team/staff.
I believe we were once known as having the best and most loyal fans. Maybe it's the difference between the older generation that once held up the torch and the younger generation.
I’m going to level with you here: I’ve loved this team my whole life, even when it was tough to watch. My childhood spans the Mora and Ditka years, Haslett was the coach during my bridge into adulthood, Payton was hired the year I finished college. Those first three coaches played to some mighty empty Superdome Sundays, some of which I’d gone to as a United Way kid because a car dealership or local bank would buy enough tickets to avoid a blackout then donate a chunk of them to our chapter. The only period of time our fans ranked as best and loyal were during the rebirth of the region, because Saints football was a uniting force confirming that we were both alive and resilient. The winning helped, but we shouldn’t trick ourselves into believing this is a fan base that has always shown up no matter what. Hard times, volatile economies, and bad football defined the first half of the Saints’ existence in some measure or other. We’ve always been a good party, but that happens with our without football as the backdrop.