Da Chronic's Got Talent: Eight is Enough
We're ready to present another candidate in our search for fresh new front page talent here on Canal Street Chronicles, to make the best Saints blog on the net even better.
In case you missed the introduction to our little talent search here, be sure to read it first before continuing. Remember, any and all criticism must be 100% constructive and positive in nature. Keep Da Chronic classy!
Please welcome the next contestant of Da Chronic's Got Talent! S/he is willing to contribute every other week and possibly once weekly in the future.
It's Time to Put the 2011 Season to Bed
Two weeks ago at this very moment I was walking around Candlestick Park getting taunted because of my very low-key Saints warm-up jacket. Did I mention there's a police observation tower in the parking lot that looks like it was designed by the same architect (and for the same reason) as the observation tower at Folsom Prison? Now I'm sitting here on a Saturday afternoon watching college basketball and trying to move on without any meaningful football until August. As proud as I am of Brees, Graham, Bushrod, Evans, and Nicks, have you ever sat and watched an entire Pro Bowl game? Me neither. And seriously, Giants-Patriots? I'll watch but I refuse to enjoy.
Thanks to DirecTV I haven't missed a single Saints snap in years (if you don't count the Tampa Bay blow-out a few weeks ago Fox aired as a national game and then cut away from mid-way through the third quarter so we could sit on the edge of our seats watching Jared Allen almost break Michael Strahan's sack record). I'm also lucky enough to travel to see my team play a few times a year.
Well the Candlestick game didn't work out so well, and now I'm surrounded by Giants fans telling me they knew all along Eli could walk on water, or Jets fans hoping Peyton will put Mark Sanchez out of a job. Yes, I am a Saints fan in New Jersey. And I'm reminded that the Saints lost to the 49ers every time I turn on the television or leave my house and am forced to look at those giant inflatable Giants on everyone's lawn.
I'm a fan. I'm not a statistics guy, and I'm not a fantasy league guy. I am the guy who shuts down all non-football forms of life every Sunday from September until January. I am also the guy who has given my family no other reasonable choice but to be Saints fans. There we sit every Sunday in our jerseys (I'm Vilma, she's Colston, and the progeny is Jenkins), 1500 miles from NOLA, hoping the satellite doesn't go out as we cheer our fool heads off -- or wonder what the heck just happened (as in the case of the Rams game in October).
But enough about me, let's get back to the Divisional game. I saw it twice, once in person with the drunk guy behind me hitting me on the shoulder every time the Niners did something good, and once when I got home. The first time I was pretty depressed (and concerned about my personal safety), but the second time I was amazed at how good we actually played and how hard San Francisco had to work -- in spite of the 17 points we spotted them -- to squeak out a miracle victory at the last second. I'll leave the second-guessing to the second-guessers, and I'll leave the arm-chair quarterbacking to the arm-chair quarterbacks. Sure I'd like to win another Super Bowl, but I've been on this ride since Archie was under center and I'm still enjoying the fact that our team is really freakin' good.
Between the drunken and hostile Niners fans, and the screaming young lady in the #9 jersey, gold foil wig and fleur-de-lis face paint who didn't know the names of any of the other Saints besides Brees, my experience at Candlestick was truly once in a lifetime (because I'll kick and scream if anyone ever tries to take me there again).
I am looking forward to an off-season of improvement (hopefully), and next year I'll be at MetLife Stadium when we play the Giants, but mostly I'm just enjoying the ride and appreciating being part of something only a few football fans get to be a part of -- an organization that cares about winning.
It's not always easy rooting for a team halfway across the country, but it sure is fun being a citizen of the Who Dat Nation. Even when football is over until August.
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-SG
