Not many pundits, or even many Saints fans for that matter, thought there was much of a chance of the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl last season.
The Saints weren’t even picked to win their own division by a good number of the “experts.”
Things have changed. The Saints have flown onto the football radar and are a serious contender in the league, maybe for the first time ever.
This season, the expectations are higher than ever. Louisianians have tasted the vine of victory, reveled in its sweetness and took time to “party with the Lombardi.”
Now we want some more.
We did it with LSU’s national championships in football back in 2003 and 2007, and we are going to do it again this year with the Saints. We want and expect it to happen again.
But it may not happen like we want. Winning a Super Bowl takes not only talent but a little bit of luck.
Teams have to stay injury-free for the most part, and the Saints already have injuries to key players across the board. Maybe it’s better those injuries happened earlier, and we hope the metaphorical injury bug will keep itself away from here on out.
Teams also need a decent schedule, and the Saints have what looks like a pretty tough one this year with games against possible playoff contenders in the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens.
That’s just the out-of-division games. Remember, no team has repeated as NFC South Champions since its inception in 2002. It seems like the Tampa Bay Bucs, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and Saints like to trade turns winning it.
It’s tough enough to win the NFC South, never mind the NFC Championship.
Add a bull’s-eye on the back of the Saints’ jerseys as the defending Super Bowl champions, and you have a solid mix of gumbo working against the Saints’ chances of repeating.
But the Saints have something no other team in the nation has, and that’s Drew Brees — the man who won’t accept winning only one Super Bowl, the man who won’t let his team quit, the man who won’t give up on a city.
I have every bit of faith in the Saints’ chances of repeating this year. But I think that may be a stretch. If the Saints make it back to the playoffs and get to the NFC Championship game, that’s a successful season to me.
And that success all starts with the Saints dominating the Vikings tonight, 38-17.
Even if the Saints somehow stumble this season, remember this: For the rest of this year and into the beginning of next year, we Saints fans are World Champions. It doesn’t matter if the Saints win only eight games this year (don’t worry, that won’t happen) because until the next Super Bowl, we can declare ourselves World Champions.
Hell, for the rest of our lives we can look back on that fateful February night and remember the onside kick to end all onside kicks, Tracy Porter cutting off Peyton Manning’s pass and taking it all the way back and Drew hoisting little Baylen Brees  into the air.
And until hell refreezes over and pigs sprout their wings back, last season is something I will never forget.
Andy Schwehm is a 21-year-old psychology and English senior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_ASchewhm.
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Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]