Saints Practice

Saturday, June 2, 2007

I went to New Orleans Saints practice on Saturday morning. They had a mandatory 3-day mini-camp over the weekend, and the first two practices were open to the public. Believe it or not, I went more because I wanted to get a better sense of this city’s love for its NFL team, and not because of my addiction to sports (if anything, I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I went to watch a football team practice in early June). I arrived in New Orleans a couple of weeks after the season ended, and I’ve seen plenty of people wearing Saints’ t-shirts or hats, or with a banner hanging in their gutted or newly constructed home. But I don’t think you can really gauge how much people are into a team until the regular season starts or is at least close. I don’t need anymore convincing. These folks love their Saints!

It’s the south, where football is king, so it’s not all that surprising. Still, the amount of people who showed up (the Times-Picayune reported estimates of about 3,000 each for Friday’s afternoon and Saturday’s morning sessions) for a practice was impressive. This was at a practice field at their complex in Metairie, not a stadium. It was absolutely standing room only. The bleachers the team had set up were 100% full, and I only got to see peaks of the field because on my tip-toes I might push 6-3. Anyone under six-foot was out of luck. Cameras went off non-stop, Drew Bees and Reggie Bush shirts lined the stands and people were screaming for the players whether they were stretching or running wide receiver drills.

Peter King I’m not but I’ve been around enough college team practices and a few NFL games or events to know if a city or state is into its team, and Louisiana loves this team. That is a great thing, as it should go without saying that this region needs all the pick me ups it can get. Even if it’s just a diversion, the Saints (and it doesn’t hurt that they’re good again) serve a great purpose here.