What the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Win Means to Me

Decry me a bandwagon jumper if you will. I will say I rooted for the New Orleans Saints as much as I rooted for any team this year. Truth is, I didn't give much thought to football season this year. It's not that I don't enjoy football, there was just so much more going on in my life and I couldn't find a way to fit a Saturday of sitting still into my schedule. For the most part, I ride with my Texans. But when it became clear... Well it's really not worth talking about now. Keep trying guys. You'll get there.

Memories

My allegiance to the City of New Orleans has less to do with football and more to with a long and joy filled association. Hot New Orleans boys and hotter Bourbon St bars played a major role in my coming of age. It was a mainstay in my vacation Rolodex. Long lazy Sunday afternoon meals with friends and family off the Esplanade on Dourjenois St. Seafood Gumbo, Etouffee, loaves of crusty French bread, wine and laughter until the wee hours; always there was the laughter. There is a palpable type of joy that assails one on the streets of New Orleans. Folks seem to embody the never say die spirit. Now for those of you who will insert your own joke here I will cater to you and say they often do not embody the never say kill spirit.

Transcendence

Jokes aside. To me the Saints Super Bowl win is about more than a team whose time had finally come. It illustrates perfectly the very definition of perseverance. It spoke volumes about a team that could have given up and it said even more about the people of New Orleans. Battered by circumstances, they hung in, willing to believe, despite years of failures and near misses. After the wholesale devastation of Hurricane Katrina, no one would have been shocked or surprised if the Saints had cast their sights on greener pastures. There is no doubt in my mind that Hurricane Katrina was the catalyst for the events that led to last nights win. This win transcends place or station. It is about never giving up despite appearances to the contrary. It's about putting in the time and putting the failures behind you and striving toward the mark. When commitment to a singular goal combines with talent and force of will then you have the makings of a winner.

Stay the Course

When I started writing this prior to the kick off of the game, the title was tentatively, "What the New Orleans Saints Being in the Super Bowl Means to Me". The truth is that emotions don't change. Here is a team who tried for 43 years to reach this pinnacle. Piling up losses, mediocre records and bad will; still they stuck with it. As a denizen of Houston, I can identify to some degree with the fortitude that takes. There are those who will say that, in the grand scheme of things none of this matters. I beg to differ. If you've ever chased a dream or wanted something and you got this close only to give up and do something else, the Saints win proves that it's never too late to pull one out of the hat. There's no expiration date on the hope that this win will imprint on the psyches of many young people, not just in New Orleans but everywhere. Within the parties and celebrations there are chances for teachable moments. There are opportunities to show that if you believe and work hard that you can achieve what you set out to. It may take some changes in personnel and there may even be a few tragedies along the way but your dream is never out of your reach if you keep on striving. As football itself is often a metaphor for life, those who have struggled and struggled to achieve a goal will find themselves in the tail of the Saints arduous rise to glory. Those who have hung in after having been pummeled within an inch of their lives will see that the dream maybe a long time coming but be assured of its arrival.