For the New Orleans Saints, the Louisiana representative of the
Southern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC), life in
the National Football League (NFL) has been one long exercise in
patience. Since their establishment as an expansion franchise in 1966,
the Saints have been on an upward trajectory - but one with a very
slight uphill grade. It took them more than ten years to manage a break
even season, and another decade beyond that to finally have their first
season with more wins than defeats. They didn't manage a playoff
victory until the 2000 campaign. Saints fans have had to endure far
more downs than ups over the last four decades as their team struggled
to find its place in an NFL dominated by concepts of parity, but
throughout it all, patience has been the byword.
Arizona
Cardinals Ornament
There is no denying that the Saints have come a long way from the sad
days of 1980 when the team managed to go down to defeat in each of
their first fourteen games of the season. Things were so bad that the
team's fans took to covering their heads with paper bags during home
games, in an attempt to show the disgust and shame that they felt over
their team's dismal performance. Oddly enough, the trend caught on with
other teams as well, and is now a common sight in the stadiums of under
performing teams across the nation.
Philadelphia Phillies Ornament
Rising waters and success
You have to hand it to the Saints - they always seem to find something
worse that can happen to them. After nearly four decades of poor play,
the city of New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The
damage was so extensive that the team could not even play in their own
dome for the rest of the seasons, leaving them out on the road for the
entire season. The end result was a season with only 3 wins, and the
fervent desire on the part of fans and players alike that the next year
would at last bring some positive developments. It did. In fact, the
2006 campaign resulted in the Saints not only winning the South
division, but going on to face the Bears in the NFC Championship. And
even though the Saintly ones lost that game, most fans felt like
destiny was within their grasp.
Which road leads to the Super Bowl?
For the Saints, the road back to a Championship chance would not be the
one everyone expected. Rather than continue to build on their wonderful
2006 results, the Saints instead slid backward toward mediocrity for
two straight seasons. Then, when it seemed as though the bad old years
of abysmal play were once again taking hold of the team, it did
something nobody expected: win the first thirteen matchups in the 2009
season. By the time the season was over, the Saints had won the NFC
title game, dominated the indomitable Peyton Manning in Super Bowl
XLIV, and won their first Championship crown. For the fans of the
Saints - and players as well - faith has been rewarded as patience
finally paid off.