Saturday, February 6, 2010

The Saints - I Remember

Now is a great moment to reflect on the Saints franchise history. Many great memories for me despite the many defeats.

-I was too young to remember the John Gilliam kickoff return
-I remember tiny Howard Stephens (#22)
-I remember Danny Abramowicz's consecutive catches
-I remember Archie Who
-I remember Ed Hargett and Billy Kilmer
-I remember Earl Campbell's pulled hamstring run
-I remember Wes Chandler's leaping catches
-I remember running down the carpeted ramps in the Dome
-I remember BOTH of Steve Bartkowski's final 10 second hail mary's..."trips right"
-I remember "I hate the Falcons"
-I remember Archie's minus 41 yard goal line fumble against Da Bears
-I remember walking down Claiborne holding my dad's hand on the way to Tulane Stadium
-I remember the halftime shows at Tulane Stadium. Do you remember the cannon that injured some of the performers? Or the skydivers?
-I remember the "beer backpacks" and "Jax beer right chea"
-I remember Crazy George
-I remember Bum and "the hat"....and Wade too
-I remember my sister and I putting ice on our blue jeans because it was so hot in Tulane Stadium
-I remember Danny Abramowicz running into the camera
-I remember Ricky Jackson's near death car crash and his famous quote "It's hard to keep a vet under 100!"
-I remember Tom Dempsey's kick. My dad's friend behind us was pacing saying "there's no way that he's going to make it! He made it! He made it!"
-I remember the Saints doubloons in the gameday programs
-I remember the Falcons 62-7 victory. My dad wouldn't let us leave early!
-I remember the Saints glasses you would get with a "fill up" at the Shell station
-I remember the first night in the Superdome
-I remember "the wave"
-I remember Al Dodd
-I remember the smell of Dome Dogs
-I remember the 8-8 year. Manning, Myers, Childs, Galbreath, and Muncie go to the Pro Bowl
-I remember meeting Archie Manning outside the locker room with Coach Dick Nolan after the first Falcons "last 10 second Hail Mary".
-I remember eating at Archie and Danny's restaurant on Veterans
-I remember riding the school bus and picking up Abramowicz's kids every morning
-I remember 1-15
-I remember my high school football coach, the former Saint, Errol Linden
-I remember Abramowicz saying to me "do you have a frog in your pocket?"
-I remember "Thunder" and "Lighting"
-I remember the Plaza, Loge, and the Terrace
-I remember the Tulane Stadium popcorn
-I remember watching Coach Nolan chain smoke on our front porch the day Mecom fired him
-I remember "woulda coulda shoulda"
-I remember "Jawn" Forcade and "the scabs"
-I remember when Archie slammed his helmet on the turf and it broke into pieces
-I remember Gumbo sleeping on the sidelines
-I remember the training facility on David Drive
-I remember Buddy D and his lisp
-I remember Wayne Mack
-I remember "the defense" with Mills, Jackson, Johnson, and Swilling...the Dome Patrol
-I remember "The Snake", Kenny Stabler, in a Saints uniform
-I remember Ditka
-I remember Tom Fears, J.D. Roberts, and John North
-I remember Hank Stram, "the suit", and the rolled up paper
-I remember very little of Haslett
-I remember John Mecom
-I remember my dad selling his extra ticket outside Tulane Stadium for "beer money"
-I remember jogging down the levee past Abramowicz
-I remember Joe Federspiel
-I remember parking the car in front yards uptown near Tulane Stadium
-I remember the "Benson Boogie"
-I remember "Do The Dalton"
-I remember Turley going crazy.....and those tattoos
-I remember "Johnny The Trench" cursing on the way home from the games.....the first time I heard the word "asshole"!
-I remember Bobby Hebert couldn't throw the long ball
-I remember Dombrowski
-I remember Deuce
-I remember booing the Saints and the Aints
-I remember ET Martin on the quick slant
-I remember when I went to bed at halftime and my dad told me the next morning that we blew the 28 point lead to Stabler and the Raiders...1979
-I remember Montana's 2 minute drill all too well
-I remember Reggie's flip in Chicago
-I remember the blood on Butkus' uniform in Tulane Stadium
-I remember Jim Finks
-I remember John Taylor's 200+ yard receiving game on MNF
-I remember Jim Henderson's game analysis
-I remember Ricky's post-game interviews....especially the one "in the locker"
-I remember playing a high school game in Tulane Stadium and thinking of Archie
-I remember giving the Bucs their 1st win
-I remember the 1st round draft choice for a kicker/punter...Erxleben
-I remember Bobby Scott
-I remember seeing Fran Tarkenton scramble
-I remember U2 and Green Day
-I remember Jim Everett, Richard Todd, and Dave Wilson
-I remember Mel Gray on the returns
-I remember Conrad Dobler and the mustache
-I remember the free NFL footballs from the Nolans
-I remember the Drew Brees "arrow accuracy" YouTube video
-I remember Jumpy Geathers
-I remember Tinker Owens
-I remember Archie on WWL
-I remember Larry Burton....fast, but no hands
-I remember Stan Brock
-I remember Jerry Romig on the PA
-I remember the playoff losses
-I remember Jack Del Rio
-I remember dominating Brady and the Pats
-I remember Coach Nolan calling me a "candy ass"
-I remember Gil Fenerty (OMG, I listed a Blue Jay!)
-I remember George Rogers
-I remember Joe's cell phone call
-I remember Willie Roaf
-I remember playing a high school game in the Superdome and thinking of Archie
-I remember Steve Walsh and Danny Wuerfful
-I remember seeing Jim Taylor run down the levee with two tree trunks for legs
-I remember Charlton Heston in "Number One"
-I remember Reuben
-I remember Mora's "we suck"
-I remember the Katrina Dome
-I remember sitting up in the coaches suite with my dad......and the great parking pass!
-I remember Waymer's picks
-I remember Rich Mauti's returns
-I remember that Aaron Brooks didn't quite have it
-I remember The Aints and the bags
-I remember Hokie
-I remember Morton. How did we ever let him go? To the Falcons?!?
-I remember Bob Pollard and Doug Atkins
-I remember Coach Nolan saying "what business do you have bringing my daughter home at 1 in the morning!"
-I remember the Saints in Tiger Stadium
-I remember Benson's threats to move
-I remember Derland Moore
-I remember the 7 touchdowns by 7 different players against Eli
-I remember Favre "on the ground"

43 years of history. Lets see if this history can be consummated into victory today!

Other than Colts fans, Falcons Fans, and Archie, how can anyone NOT root for the Saints??

"On January 23, 1971, just four years after they drafted him, the New Orleans Saints traded Billy Kilmer to the Washington Redskins. As a Saints fan and Kilmer fan, I was torn. At age eight, I made the decision to start rooting for the Redskins as my "backup" team just in case the Saints didn't make the playoffs. Well, that turned out to be a great strategy! P.S. After Joe Gibbs left the Redskins, I lost touch with the team and picked the Colts up as my new "backup" team when Jim Mora arrived. The later arrival of my fellow New Orleanian, Peyton Manning, sealed the deal. But remember I predict a Super Bowl victory for the Saints next season!"
Random Roving - November 7, 2008

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