What's it like being a Saints fan from the beginning, compared to now? (1 Viewer)

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David Robbins

Ole Miss Rocks!
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I was born in 1963, so I'm no spring chicken any longer. I was born here in Mississippi, but we moved to Slidell in the late 60's. The Saints had just come into the league, and we immediately became Die Hard Saints fans.

My Dad took me to most of the games he was home for, because he was a Greyhound Bus Driver and was on the road alot. Those games were in Old Tulane Stadium. We all think about the Georgia Bulldogs when we hear the statement "the hedges," but I'm here to tell you, that was where the hedges were!

Now, as for the Saints. I was a kid, but I really got hooked on that team, even if it weren't any good. Still remember the best moments (though, no where near all of my old memories - getting old!); I remember the Gilliam Kick Return, the Dempsey 63 yard Kick, and Danny Abramowitz running into an object on the sideline after a catch and holding his head like it was about to explode! lol.

I remember the day I finally heard that Archie was drafted. My Dad was a huge Ole Miss Rebel fan, and thereby, so was I. We were thrilled that Archie was going to be a Saint. Then, the career actually got started.

"Down.....Set......Hutt.....3 to 5 step drop, then hit the ground so you don't get killed. That was how Archie had to play in those days. We never gave him an O-Line. He was getting killed every time he dropped back. A Running QB? Heck, he had to be. If he couldn't run, he would have been killed playing for those teams.

Then there is something a lifelong fan can never forget. John Meachem (sp?). Absolutely the worst Owner/GM ever! It's not that he didn't try. He drafted some really great players during his time. Problem is, he would turn right around and trade them away after 2 or 3 seasons. Think of the list of players:

Chuck Muncie
George Rogers
Tommy Myers
Danny Abramowitz
Archie Manning

And, the list goes on and on. Can't even begin to list them all - not to mention, I'm bad with names (heck, I can't even remember the name of the Reciever we let go to San Diego to play with Fouts anymore, lol). Still, these were all - and just some of the - great players that had stellar careers in the NFL.

Year after year, season after season, my dreams were crushed. I kept waiting, thinking that eventually they would get it right. Finally, they brought in Bum Phillips, and I thought we were on our way. But, probably the most exciting thing to remember about his teams were when he got his Stetson Hat stolen off his head!

I still remember the draft where Lawrence TAylor got drafted. I was so dissapointed. Then, we drafted Ricky Jackson in the 2nd round! I was thrilled! Only problem was, I figured he would be traded away in a few years to another them. Thank God I was wrong, because in my opinion, he's just as good at LT ever was!

Now, as all of us know, there were no winning seasons during all of this drama. Yes, there was a non-winless one, as we almost made the playoffs, but no winning ones. I thought, can it ever get any better? But wait, there was a miracle coming, and his name was Tom Benson!

Yes, good Ole Tom came in and bought my beloved Saints, and the good times began. He hired Jim Finks, who brought in Jim Mora, and the fun began! We started having more good drafts, but we didn't trade them away! And, there was no free-agency (unless you cound Plan B Free Agency as the same), so we actually got to keep our players! And, what Players: Pat Swilling, Willie Roaf, Dalton Hilliard, Reuben Mayes, Gene Atkins, Bret Maxie, and so many more! And, we had another stroke of luck in that the USFL crashed, and we got a lot of their great players: Bobby Hebert, Vaughn Johnson, just to name a couple! Yes, the good times were starting.

But, in all of this, we had a problem. Our shiny new HC could win, and win big during the regular season. However, he couldn't win a playoff game if someone had been there whispering in his ear the blueprint as to how! "Playoffs! Playoffs! Heck, I'd just be happy to win a game!" lol. Well, he was funny, and knew how to conduct an interview!

Well, all good things must come to an end. Modern Free-agency arrived, along with something called the Salary Cap, and boom - we were the Ain'ts again. Jim Finks had died, and Jim Mora quit. Then, we bring in the lovable Mike Ditka. The best thing he did for us was to show us how to get married to a RB after giving an entire Draft class (and part of the next) away to get him! Ugh.

Well, things finally got a little bit better when we brought in Randy Mueller, and he brought Mickey Loomis with him. We all know what happened. Jim Haslett finally got us a playoff win. But, he wasn't the best thing in all of this. Randy got let go, and Mickey took over. Then, after Katrina, he brought in Sean Payton and Drew Brees, and we finally got to the pinnacle of the NFL by winning a Superbowl!

I say all of this not to show how old I am, but to say this. I (along with many others on this board), have seen the 1-15 seasons. I've worn the bag on my head. I've heard all the references to the Ain'ts. Now, we are in hog heaven with our beloved Saints.

So, for all the young guys on the forum, I hope this has been a wake-up call. Times can change in a heartbeat. I hope they don't, but those old times could come back. Enjoy this while you can, because eventually, Drew Brees is going to retire, and Sean Payton may leave. Hopefully, we won't go back to the Aint's days, but it could happen.

It's just the continued story of the New Orleans Saints - the one and only Who Dat Nation, where we all bleed Black n Gold! Geaux Saints!
 
In the beginning it was blind euphoria. Nothing mattered other than our Saints were out there. Stupid trades. Free agents ( when that was unheard of) that never played. Nothing phased us. As the years went on the sceptics began to grow. For most of us it was ok to

Wait till next year

Then SP and ML showed up and ruined everything ?. Now we have become used to winning. And winning big.

That was the age of innocence. This is great but different
 
Right there with ya D. Born in 65 and have been a SAINTS fan since I knew what football was. Wes Chandler was prob the name you were looking for. How many other teams fans boast about a kickers jersey is one they bought? He was the biggest star we had! An Archie Manning football camp was my first SAINTS shirt, at age 9 prob... a George Roger's jersey was my first jersey. Now too many players to choose from!

All the memories you describe, I know all too well. The 60's/70's when they were lovable losers. You would see more highlights in one of the follies reels than on anything else. The 80's/90's when at last winning seasons and playoff appearances were new. Then the modern teams. Winning seasons, playoffs, the big one! Complaining about 7-9 seasons when at one time, that would have been celebrated! It's been a ride!

I guess the biggest lesson is enjoy every moment and take nothing for granted. I still never relax, or celebrate until the clock hits all zeros!

WHO DAT!
 
I'm old enough to have some vague memories of Manning, Muncie, Galbreath, et al. I remember when we beat the Jets in 1980. I remember going to the MNF game against the Raiders and blowing a 21 point lead. Of course I remember Bum, the sale of the Saints (and fears of them moving to Jacksonville), the Mora/Dome Patrol years. My son was 5 when Katrina hit and says he barely remembers Aaron Brooks, mostly hearing about him - no memories of seeing him play. He was with me in the Dome when Gleason blocked the kick, when Hartley made the kick, and basically ever since. He knows the history but has really only known the Drew Brees era. He doesn't know how lucky he is.
 
I was 9 years old. We were living in Baton Rouge on Old Hammond Highway.
They had just finished 4-laning Florida Blvd all the way to Broadmoor and the rumor was they were going to 4-lane it to Denham Springs!
My father came home one day and announced I could no longer be a Packers fan. We were getting our own team!
He said they'd be called the Saints and they'd play at Tulane Stadium until their stadium got built, and that's when he really started talking crazy.
He said that the Saints stadium would be a giant dome, the biggest in the world!
Not only that, but our world was going to change because 4-lane Interstate highways were coming.
We wouldn't have to take narrow, winding back roads to Hammond, through Kentwood, past McComb and Summit to visit my grandmother!
Louisiana was going modern, he said.
The days when you'd come around a curve and find two old men with their pickup trucks stopped in the middle of the road while they talked and sipped beer would end.
When he told me people were actually starting to BUY crawfish instead of catching them in roadside ditches, I wondered why in the heck anybody would pay good money for something they could catch for free.
Everything he said came true. Everything.
You know, sometimes I wonder what we lost. Then, I drive through the backroads past Turkey Creek and come across two old guys with their trucks stopped in the middle of the road, talking and sipping beer.
The old Louisiana is still around. You just have to look for it.
 
David Robbins said:
I was born in 1963, so I'm no spring chicken any longer. I was born here in Mississippi, but we moved to Slidell in the late 60's. The Saints had just come into the league, and we immediately became Die Hard Saints fans.

My Dad took me to most of the games he was home for, because he was a Greyhound Bus Driver and was on the road alot. Those games were in Old Tulane Stadium. We all think about the Georgia Bulldogs when we hear the statement "the hedges," but I'm here to tell you, that was where the hedges were!

Now, as for the Saints. I was a kid, but I really got hooked on that team, even if it weren't any good. Still remember the best moments (though, no where near all of my old memories - getting old!); I remember the Gilliam Kick Return, the Dempsey 63 yard Kick, and Danny Abramowitz running into an object on the sideline after a catch and holding his head like it was about to explode! lol.

I remember the day I finally heard that Archie was drafted. My Dad was a huge Ole Miss Rebel fan, and thereby, so was I. We were thrilled that Archie was going to be a Saint. Then, the career actually got started.

"Down.....Set......Hutt.....3 to 5 step drop, then hit the ground so you don't get killed. That was how Archie had to play in those days. We never gave him an O-Line. He was getting killed every time he dropped back. A Running QB? Heck, he had to be. If he couldn't run, he would have been killed playing for those teams.

Then there is something a lifelong fan can never forget. John Meachem (sp?). Absolutely the worst Owner/GM ever! It's not that he didn't try. He drafted some really great players during his time. Problem is, he would turn right around and trade them away after 2 or 3 seasons. Think of the list of players:

Chuck Muncie
George Rogers
Tommy Myers
Danny Abramowitz
Archie Manning

And, the list goes on and on. Can't even begin to list them all - not to mention, I'm bad with names (heck, I can't even remember the name of the Reciever we let go to San Diego to play with Fouts anymore, lol). Still, these were all - and just some of the - great players that had stellar careers in the NFL.

Year after year, season after season, my dreams were crushed. I kept waiting, thinking that eventually they would get it right. Finally, they brought in Bum Phillips, and I thought we were on our way. But, probably the most exciting thing to remember about his teams were when he got his Stetson Hat stolen off his head!

I still remember the draft where Lawrence TAylor got drafted. I was so dissapointed. Then, we drafted Ricky Jackson in the 2nd round! I was thrilled! Only problem was, I figured he would be traded away in a few years to another them. Thank God I was wrong, because in my opinion, he's just as good at LT ever was!

Now, as all of us know, there were no winning seasons during all of this drama. Yes, there was a non-winless one, as we almost made the playoffs, but no winning ones. I thought, can it ever get any better? But wait, there was a miracle coming, and his name was Tom Benson!

Yes, good Ole Tom came in and bought my beloved Saints, and the good times began. He hired Jim Finks, who brought in Jim Mora, and the fun began! We started having more good drafts, but we didn't trade them away! And, there was no free-agency (unless you cound Plan B Free Agency as the same), so we actually got to keep our players! And, what Players: Pat Swilling, Willie Roaf, Dalton Hilliard, Reuben Mayes, Gene Atkins, Bret Maxie, and so many more! And, we had another stroke of luck in that the USFL crashed, and we got a lot of their great players: Bobby Hebert, Vaughn Johnson, just to name a couple! Yes, the good times were starting.

But, in all of this, we had a problem. Our shiny new HC could win, and win big during the regular season. However, he couldn't win a playoff game if someone had been there whispering in his ear the blueprint as to how! "Playoffs! Playoffs! Heck, I'd just be happy to win a game!" lol. Well, he was funny, and knew how to conduct an interview!

Well, all good things must come to an end. Modern Free-agency arrived, along with something called the Salary Cap, and boom - we were the Ain'ts again. Jim Finks had died, and Jim Mora quit. Then, we bring in the lovable Mike Ditka. The best thing he did for us was to show us how to get married to a RB after giving an entire Draft class (and part of the next) away to get him! Ugh.

Well, things finally got a little bit better when we brought in Randy Mueller, and he brought Mickey Loomis with him. We all know what happened. Jim Haslett finally got us a playoff win. But, he wasn't the best thing in all of this. Randy got let go, and Mickey took over. Then, after Katrina, he brought in Sean Payton and Drew Brees, and we finally got to the pinnacle of the NFL by winning a Superbowl!

I say all of this not to show how old I am, but to say this. I (along with many others on this board), have seen the 1-15 seasons. I've worn the bag on my head. I've heard all the references to the Ain'ts. Now, we are in hog heaven with our beloved Saints.

So, for all the young guys on the forum, I hope this has been a wake-up call. Times can change in a heartbeat. I hope they don't, but those old times could come back. Enjoy this while you can, because eventually, Drew Brees is going to retire, and Sean Payton may leave. Hopefully, we won't go back to the Aint's days, but it could happen.

It's just the continued story of the New Orleans Saints - the one and only Who Dat Nation, where we all bleed Black n Gold! Geaux Saints!
Click to expand...

I was born in 1959. Ole Miss grad and. "What he said". This covers my feelings too.

The only thing I could add is this. Our expectations were different. Back then, nobody thought we would ever win a super bowl. Let alone, be considered elite.
 
BOHICA said:
Ernie Wheelright and Tony Barrington (old roster has him as 'Tom') original running backs both.... anybody remember those handles? You watched and hoped and the occasional win was all you needed. So innocent then :giggle:
Click to expand...
It was hard to watch my new team playing so hard and still coming up losers by the end of the game. As kid I thought of those names as the best in the business because the Saints players (with little exception) were the only names I really knew. Despite the early growing pains, I was ecstatic when the Saints beat Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Washington in our inaugural year (1967). In year two we won 4 games, and in year three we won 5 games.

Few people realized that 12 wins for a three year expansion team at that time was the NFL record! So in the very beginning it appeared that we wouldn't have to wait over 40 years for a SuperBowl championship.
 
I'm just glad I'm young enough to not have had to find out. I started following in high school during the 2001 season.

I can't imagine how 35 years of failure must have felt for fans back then and I hope there's never another period like that again.
 

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