sainthood
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I made this list absent record or year, but taking into account their franchise history as a Saints fan and player movement of former Saints, Louisiana ties, and conference. 1 means I will most root for this team during the 2021 season.
1. Denver Broncos – Teddy Bridgewater is the quarterback and a class act as a former Saint. I also rooted for them with Peyton Manning against the Panthers in the Superbowl and against the Dirty Bird Falcons and Farve Packers with Elway.
2. Cincinnati Bengals – The LSU connection of Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase makes the Bengals easy to root for as a New Orleanian. As an AFC team with an historically poor record I feel for their fans.
3. Cleveland Browns – They finally have a great roster. The city has had a rough go for the past 50 years, lost their team to Baltimore. Any long term Saints fan could relate.
4. Detroit Lions – Head Coach Dan Campbell is a former Saints coach. The team is rebuilding and similar to Cleveland the city has had a rough go and zero threat to the Saints in the NFC.
5. Buffalo Bills – small market team that has lived with heartbreak. Finally has a championship level roster with a true quarterback that seems to fit upstate New York.
6. New York Jets – had to live under the bane of Tom Brady for over a decade. Stepchild of the New York market. Their management has been dysfunctional. I pity their fans.
7. Oakland Raiders – Jon Gurden reminds me of Coach Payton. I like how Al Davis gave the league the middle finger.
8. Indianapolis Colts – Saints beat the Colts in the Superbowl. Maybe it is an odd thankfulness. But I find myself rooting for the Colts especially after their fans had Andrew Luck retire on them early. I used to root for Payton Manning for his New Orleans connection for years.
9. San Diego Chargers – The Chargers gave us Drew Brees. They have never won. Justin Hebert seems like a good young QB worth cheering for.
10. Arizona Cardinals – I hate every other team in the NFC West so much more. I will root for the Cardinals over any of them. Their franchise also has never won.
11. Jacksonville Jaguars – I enjoyed the Mark Brunel years when they had early playoff success. It is a shame their management let that defense fall apart.
12. Kansas City Chiefs – Mahomes is a beast. Coach Payton really wanted to draft him. So watching him is sort of like a parallel world of proving how good of a QB evaluator Sean Payton is.
13. New England Patriots – they beat the Falcons and created 28 to 3. I can’t be that mad at them.
14. Tennessee Titans – I like Coach Mike Vrabel’s style of smash mouth run the ball and tough defense. The Titans / Oilers have also never won.
15. Houston Texans – I enjoyed the Arian Foster years. He was easy to root for. TJ Watt seemed like a class act for what he did for the city. Now the Texans are such a dumpster fire with the worst GM in the league. I feel sorry for Texan fans.
16. Baltimore Ravens – well run franchise. I rooted for them in several playoff runs especially when the Ravens beat the 49ers in the Superbowl in New Orleans.
17. Miami Dolphins – I resent them because there is a rumor Brees only came to New Orleans because Nick Saben passed on him for Dante Culpepper. I dislike both this rumor and Nick Saban, but they are in the AFC.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers – the Steelers have been the most consistent winner in the AFC for years. I love coach Tomlin. If we couldn’t have Coach Payton he would be my top alternative. But I loath Ben Roethlisberger and my ex-father in law is a Steelers fan. So...
19. Green Bay Packers – have never beaten the Saints in the playoffs. We beat them the second game in 2006 before Gleason’s punt. Yes, they got home field last year over us, but we have done consistently well against them and I dislike both the Vikings and the Bears more.
20. New York Giants – Eli Manning was easy for me to root for being Archie’s kid. They also denied Tom Brady his perfect season which if the Giants had not we would be forced to hear about it with every other Brady stat forever.
21. The Washington Football Team – Their owner is a tool. The media gives them way too much credit. Ron Rivera is easy to root for though especially after battling cancer.
22. The Philadelphia Eagles – We beat them in the playoffs twice. They beat us once. Their fans are obnoxious. They also denied Tom Brady a 400th Superbowl.
23. Seattle Seahawks – the beast quake run is a horrible Saints memory as we had to go on the road against a team with a worse record in a playoff game, but I do like Russel Wilson as an underdog short quarterback that kind of reminds me of Drew Brees.
24. Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings have taken the Saints out of the playoffs four times. The Minnesota Miracle was the biggest gut punch, but what we did to them in the NFC championship game to go to the Superbowl is the ultimate flex on whatever they did those other years.
25. Carolina Panthers – yes they are in our division but I will root for them when they are playing the Bucs or the Falcons which is four weeks a year. We beat the Panthers in the playoffs in our only matchup. Jake Delhomme was also easy to root for when he was a Panther as a former Saint and Louisiana native.
26. Dallas Cowboys – Owner Jerry Jones is a joke. They get way too much media credit for what Jimmy Johnson did decades ago. Their fans live in a time warp which is fun to mock. Coach Payton dominating the 2006 Bill Parcells Cowboys is a good memory. Easy team to root against for how ridiculous their whole franchise is.
27. Chicago Bears – The 2006 NFC Championship game and what some of their fans said about Katrina is just unforgivable and painful for me. No matter how much they suck now I am rarely upset to see them lose.
28. Los Angeles Rams – Former division rival, owner of the most egregious non pass interference call in league history to deny us a Superbowl birth. I will only root for the Rams against the 49ers.
29. San Francisco 49ers -growing up Joe Montana and Jerry Rice denied the great Saints defenses of the late 80s and early 90s so many victories. The Alex Smith 49ers that denied maybe the greatest Saints offense in history was a tough playoff loss. I will never root for the 49ers unless they are playing one of our division rivals.
30. Tampa Bay Bucs – they would not be this low on the list before Brady came to Tampa. However the string of Brees not retiring last year, Brady not coming to New Orleans and Winston coming to New Orleans might be a blessing for the Saints in the long term if Winston helps bring us a title. I think their uniforms are obnoxious. Their center Ryan Jensen is a dirty player. I don’t like that Suh wen to the Bucs over the Saints even though cap wise it would have been a mistake. I feel a similar way about Antonio Brown. I feel like the Bucs built this fake roster of former 1st rounders and AFC probowlers and I can’t wait for it to implode.
31. The Atlanta Falcons –I will not root for the Falcons under any circumstance and relish their every failure only second to a Saints victory. The brilliance of the Falcons ability to find a way to lose a game is unparalleled. I hope one day Atlanta will somehow outdo losing after 28 to 3. This would mean they would have to make it to the Superbowl again, but no moment in sports brought me greater joy other than the Saints winning the Superbowl.
What is your list? Who is in your top and bottom five and why? What memories really dive your rooting interest?
1. Denver Broncos – Teddy Bridgewater is the quarterback and a class act as a former Saint. I also rooted for them with Peyton Manning against the Panthers in the Superbowl and against the Dirty Bird Falcons and Farve Packers with Elway.
2. Cincinnati Bengals – The LSU connection of Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase makes the Bengals easy to root for as a New Orleanian. As an AFC team with an historically poor record I feel for their fans.
3. Cleveland Browns – They finally have a great roster. The city has had a rough go for the past 50 years, lost their team to Baltimore. Any long term Saints fan could relate.
4. Detroit Lions – Head Coach Dan Campbell is a former Saints coach. The team is rebuilding and similar to Cleveland the city has had a rough go and zero threat to the Saints in the NFC.
5. Buffalo Bills – small market team that has lived with heartbreak. Finally has a championship level roster with a true quarterback that seems to fit upstate New York.
6. New York Jets – had to live under the bane of Tom Brady for over a decade. Stepchild of the New York market. Their management has been dysfunctional. I pity their fans.
7. Oakland Raiders – Jon Gurden reminds me of Coach Payton. I like how Al Davis gave the league the middle finger.
8. Indianapolis Colts – Saints beat the Colts in the Superbowl. Maybe it is an odd thankfulness. But I find myself rooting for the Colts especially after their fans had Andrew Luck retire on them early. I used to root for Payton Manning for his New Orleans connection for years.
9. San Diego Chargers – The Chargers gave us Drew Brees. They have never won. Justin Hebert seems like a good young QB worth cheering for.
10. Arizona Cardinals – I hate every other team in the NFC West so much more. I will root for the Cardinals over any of them. Their franchise also has never won.
11. Jacksonville Jaguars – I enjoyed the Mark Brunel years when they had early playoff success. It is a shame their management let that defense fall apart.
12. Kansas City Chiefs – Mahomes is a beast. Coach Payton really wanted to draft him. So watching him is sort of like a parallel world of proving how good of a QB evaluator Sean Payton is.
13. New England Patriots – they beat the Falcons and created 28 to 3. I can’t be that mad at them.
14. Tennessee Titans – I like Coach Mike Vrabel’s style of smash mouth run the ball and tough defense. The Titans / Oilers have also never won.
15. Houston Texans – I enjoyed the Arian Foster years. He was easy to root for. TJ Watt seemed like a class act for what he did for the city. Now the Texans are such a dumpster fire with the worst GM in the league. I feel sorry for Texan fans.
16. Baltimore Ravens – well run franchise. I rooted for them in several playoff runs especially when the Ravens beat the 49ers in the Superbowl in New Orleans.
17. Miami Dolphins – I resent them because there is a rumor Brees only came to New Orleans because Nick Saben passed on him for Dante Culpepper. I dislike both this rumor and Nick Saban, but they are in the AFC.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers – the Steelers have been the most consistent winner in the AFC for years. I love coach Tomlin. If we couldn’t have Coach Payton he would be my top alternative. But I loath Ben Roethlisberger and my ex-father in law is a Steelers fan. So...
19. Green Bay Packers – have never beaten the Saints in the playoffs. We beat them the second game in 2006 before Gleason’s punt. Yes, they got home field last year over us, but we have done consistently well against them and I dislike both the Vikings and the Bears more.
20. New York Giants – Eli Manning was easy for me to root for being Archie’s kid. They also denied Tom Brady his perfect season which if the Giants had not we would be forced to hear about it with every other Brady stat forever.
21. The Washington Football Team – Their owner is a tool. The media gives them way too much credit. Ron Rivera is easy to root for though especially after battling cancer.
22. The Philadelphia Eagles – We beat them in the playoffs twice. They beat us once. Their fans are obnoxious. They also denied Tom Brady a 400th Superbowl.
23. Seattle Seahawks – the beast quake run is a horrible Saints memory as we had to go on the road against a team with a worse record in a playoff game, but I do like Russel Wilson as an underdog short quarterback that kind of reminds me of Drew Brees.
24. Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings have taken the Saints out of the playoffs four times. The Minnesota Miracle was the biggest gut punch, but what we did to them in the NFC championship game to go to the Superbowl is the ultimate flex on whatever they did those other years.
25. Carolina Panthers – yes they are in our division but I will root for them when they are playing the Bucs or the Falcons which is four weeks a year. We beat the Panthers in the playoffs in our only matchup. Jake Delhomme was also easy to root for when he was a Panther as a former Saint and Louisiana native.
26. Dallas Cowboys – Owner Jerry Jones is a joke. They get way too much media credit for what Jimmy Johnson did decades ago. Their fans live in a time warp which is fun to mock. Coach Payton dominating the 2006 Bill Parcells Cowboys is a good memory. Easy team to root against for how ridiculous their whole franchise is.
27. Chicago Bears – The 2006 NFC Championship game and what some of their fans said about Katrina is just unforgivable and painful for me. No matter how much they suck now I am rarely upset to see them lose.
28. Los Angeles Rams – Former division rival, owner of the most egregious non pass interference call in league history to deny us a Superbowl birth. I will only root for the Rams against the 49ers.
29. San Francisco 49ers -growing up Joe Montana and Jerry Rice denied the great Saints defenses of the late 80s and early 90s so many victories. The Alex Smith 49ers that denied maybe the greatest Saints offense in history was a tough playoff loss. I will never root for the 49ers unless they are playing one of our division rivals.
30. Tampa Bay Bucs – they would not be this low on the list before Brady came to Tampa. However the string of Brees not retiring last year, Brady not coming to New Orleans and Winston coming to New Orleans might be a blessing for the Saints in the long term if Winston helps bring us a title. I think their uniforms are obnoxious. Their center Ryan Jensen is a dirty player. I don’t like that Suh wen to the Bucs over the Saints even though cap wise it would have been a mistake. I feel a similar way about Antonio Brown. I feel like the Bucs built this fake roster of former 1st rounders and AFC probowlers and I can’t wait for it to implode.
31. The Atlanta Falcons –I will not root for the Falcons under any circumstance and relish their every failure only second to a Saints victory. The brilliance of the Falcons ability to find a way to lose a game is unparalleled. I hope one day Atlanta will somehow outdo losing after 28 to 3. This would mean they would have to make it to the Superbowl again, but no moment in sports brought me greater joy other than the Saints winning the Superbowl.
What is your list? Who is in your top and bottom five and why? What memories really dive your rooting interest?
