The words “Saints fan” and “bitterness” go hand in hand.
After all, in 37 years of New Orleans Saints football history (if that’s what you want to call it), the sorry franchise has garnered a whopping one playoff victory and has come nowhere near the big game.
If the Super Bowl were equated to a trip to Disney World, the Saints team bus would be stuck somewhere around Biloxi, Miss., with a flat tire and no spare coming for years and maybe decades.
But there is one hypothesis among I would like to dispel.
Many fans truly believe the Saints are cursed by some higher power, and the need for an exorcism is pressing but never accomplished.
People rationalize that the Superdome was built on top of an Indian burial ground, and the spirits of the natives are rising up, choking off any success the Saints and their fans might enjoy.
They conjecture that the actual nickname the “Saints” is inappropriate for a city such as New Orleans, known for its decadence and hedonist attitude and the Lord himself has placed eternal doom on the team.
But here’s my stance: an incompetent front office along with a coach who receives no respect from his players plus an owner who fired the best general manager the Saints ever had has everything to do with the Saints continued failures – not some curse that allows the higher-ups off the hook.
Right now, I truly believe my little sister could evaluate talent as effectively as the Saints front office.
It’s early, but Jonathan Sullivan, the No. 6 overall pick in the draft as a defensive tackle, made zero impact this year. And remember, New Orleans gave up a No. 17 and 18 pick to get Sullivan.
And don’t forget about the Saints acquisition of safety Tebucky Jones from the New England Patriots.
Talk about a lack of impact. Jones was supposed to come in and be an all-star, but flopped miserably in his first year in the black-and-gold.
He was more interested in making a big hit than actually making a tackle.
The sad part about the whole situation is the Saints were in good hands under general manager Randy Mueller. He led them to their first-ever playoff win and made some brilliant personnel moves in his day. But because of a differing philosophy between team owner Tom Benson and Mueller, the GM was canned and New Orleans has not been the same since.
Finally, there is Saints coach Jim Haslett, who after one year looked like a marvelous hire after leading the franchise to a playoff win.
But without Mueller, Haslett has done nothing, made terrible personnel moves and seemingly lost the respect of his team.
Just look at the Joe Horn cell phone celebration that garnered so much national attention. Haslett went up to Horn right in front of the cameras to scold the star receiver, and Horn acted like Haslett was not even there.
But just in case the curse thing is true, here’s an idea – change the Saints’ name to the Crescent City Connection – We’re Bridging the Gap.
Saints are not cursed
January 27, 2004