Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is interested in buying the Saints (4 Viewers)

[Merl]

Yeah but Graves still is big in LSU NIL money and is a big LSU fan. He went to LSU and I think he is from the Baton Rouge area so he's about as local a billionaire as we have outside of Gayle Benson. And as someone mentioned, Canes is the official Chicken of the Saints so he still has his hand in LA and with the Saints.

Honestly, I found out a few months ago how much Graves is worth and I was shocked. I remember when he opened the first Canes outside the North Gates of LSU. I had no idea chicken fingers could make you that wealthy.

I had no idea that carboard tasting chicken can make money!

 

[Merl]

AI just told me a couple weeks ago that Phoenix is east of the Mississippi River. I wasn't even aware they had moved Arizona.

It's moved so it could have Ocean Front Property!

 

[Cooganfootball]

I was in Manhattan for 10 days over thanksgiving and wore my Saints hoodie almost every day and most days I got 3-4 Who Dats from people walking by, I was surprised (we came home on 12/2 so it’s not like it was people in town for our game against NYG)

 

[Saint Jack]

I was in Manhattan for 10 days over thanksgiving and wore my Saints hoodie almost every day and most days I got 3-4 Who Dats from people walking by, I was surprised (we came home on 12/2 so it’s not like it was people in town for our game against NYG)

I keep saying it, but that Payton/Brees run did give the Saints a boost into the national spotlight.

 

[Broad St. Saint]

Sorry but no. The Patriots are the primary team for all the New England states.

I lived in Connecticut for a bit. The Giants were very popular in the more populated southwestern coastal part of the state (west of New Haven), going towards the NY area, definitely more popular than the Pats.

 

[jacksonsaint]

lol. I assumed you were in Clinton. I’m actually at the Rez but I can throw a rock into north Jackson from work. I’ll drive around Jackson rather than through when I can even if the drive is twice as long.

I live in Northeast Jackson off Meadowbrook Rd. Our area is okay primarily due to highland village, but only a matter of time. Granted I'm only a few years removed from college & live around medical students.

 

[Merl]

I lived in Connecticut for a bit. The Giants were very popular in the more populated southwestern coastal part of the state (west of New Haven), going towards the NY area, definitely more popular than the Pats.

I grew up in central CT during the 70's and while the SW section has a lot of Giant fans the rest is Patriots. Before Kraft built the new Stadium in Foxboro their was talk of building one near Hartford.

 

[Madmarsha]

I was in Manhattan for 10 days over thanksgiving and wore my Saints hoodie almost every day and most days I got 3-4 Who Dats from people walking by, I was surprised (we came home on 12/2 so it’s not like it was people in town for our game against NYG)

My husband and I got who dat'd in Manhattan years ago, too. I thought that was so cool.

 

[austxsaintfan]

Yeah but Graves still is big in LSU NIL money and is a big LSU fan. He went to LSU and I think he is from the Baton Rouge area so he's about as local a billionaire as we have outside of Gayle Benson. And as someone mentioned, Canes is the official Chicken of the Saints so he still has his hand in LA and with the Saints.

Honestly, I found out a few months ago how much Graves is worth and I was shocked. I remember when he opened the first Canes outside the North Gates of LSU. I had no idea chicken fingers could make you that wealthy.

It's minor but Graves went to Georgia, not LSU. Everything else you said is correct.

 

[Fiyo]

Hate to say it, but once you get north of Hattiesburg, Saints fans are a lot less common.

Saints fans are pretty loyal and strong here in north La., even in Shreveport, which used to be big-time Cowboys country but not so much anymore

 

[GrandAdmiral]

It's interesting you mention him. Someone in BR reminded me recently when we were discussing the whole NIL system that Graves moved Canes' corporate base to Texas some time back to save him on income tax-related costs. And so in the business world, someone is only as local as their own bottom line?

And yet he still uses a Baton Rouge address after a near revolt of support.

 

[southdeltan]

I live 3 hours North of Hattiesburg. Way more than half of the NFL fans I know (and the nfl tags, stickers, etc I see in vehicles) are Saints fans.

After that there are Cowboys fans, then fans of various teams that had MS players as successful stars (49ers, Packers, Giants, Bears for examples). There are sheetbird fans here, too. Bless their hearts. There’s a big group of Titans fans up in NE MS. Oh and Steeler fans.

With most of these fan groups it’s some combination of the teams past success (Cowboys, 49ers, Steelers), MS native players (Rice, Payton, Favre, Eli, and now Dak) and location of the team (Cowboys, Titans, sheetbirds). And transplants from out of state. I have some good friends in the Jackson metro from Ohio. They ride or die (mostly die) with the Browns (and all Cleveland teams - they’re insufferable when it comes time “THE Ohio State University” and anti SEC noise)

You’ve also still got your bandwagon fans. I know 2 people that were Chiefs fans before Reid became their coach, much less drafting Mahomes. There are still Patriots fans.

Of course the further away you get from NO the number of fans decreases. That’s simple logic. But you can be assured the biggest group of NFL fans across MS are Saints fans. When WDBD-40 aired that Cowboys game last year over the Saints game, I know their programming director got threats.

————

Regardless, while I don’t think this guy is likely to get the team new ownership is something we need to be thinking about. There are only a handful of people in the region that could outright buy the team without other investors. Graves (Raisin Canes) in LA is the first one that comes to mind. In MS there are the Duff brothers but I don’t think they have enough.

If it’s mainly one person or family it’s likely going to be somebody outside of Louisiana for sure. I just hope they have enough sense to not try to locate.

 

[Clintonrebel]

It's minor but Graves went to Georgia, not LSU. Everything else you said is correct.

Actually he went to both. Graduated from Georgia. Not sure if LSU was before or after; but it was an LSU business professor who told him chicken fingers was a terrible idea. I think LSU was grad school and not sure he finished.

And he definitely still lives here, very close to campus.