The New Orleans Saints: A Benediction

The New Orleans Saints are playing in Super Bowl XLIV this Sunday and it’s officially a thing. I knew it was a thing – officially – when my sister, an ornithologist and the world’s foremost expert on the Swainson’s warbler, a small swampy bird that’s notoriously tough to spot, gave me the run down on Pierre Thomas (#23) one morning when I called to talk to my five-year-old niece. And my mom…I can’t even get into that. She raised me atheist – rational humanist for those with delicate sensibilities – and now she asks me why I’m not Catholic like her; it’s the same with football but with Drew Brees (QB) on the votive.

(She literally has a votive with Drew Brees on it, by the way. It says “Bless These Boys” above a profile of him mid-throw.)

This all happened, Sunday morning catch-ups turned to stats rundowns, when the Saints were still going for a shut-out season, and I admit that I was a hesitant hold out amidst all the faith and jingoism. But not because I’m not into football – I don’t fully understand it myself, but I’m one of those guys who can chant “Rudy” for a while and feel better about most situations. And I almost failed 5th grade because I was out in the street every night with the neighborhood crew shooting hoops and playing tackle in W’s yard (after W moved) – not only forgot about specific homework assignments but lost grasp of the concept of homework entirely. I still see those guys around when I go home, except it’s been a little weird since one of them got out of jail – armed grand theft – and told me that he thought about all our fun times when he was locked up. I liked playing ball, but otherwise we had dissonant memories.

But that’s another story, maybe. Some people have complicated relationships with sports. I’m not one of them; you could say I mostly eschew them these days. I didn’t play much football after everyone started highschool and that was a pretty easy groove to settle into through college, where I started off at The College of William and Mary. And: I honestly had no idea we had a football team. A visiting girlfriend asked what the fuss was about when we happened on some gameday tailgating on the way to the stocks or whatever and I said “it must be a track meet.” Zero Tribe Pride – missed out on Darin Sharper (#42). Would’ve missed out on him anyway; he’s seven or so years older than me.

Then I transferred to University of Florida and lived next door to The Swamp. Directly next door. New Orleans Saint Bobby McCray (#93) was a Gator, and I must’ve seen him practice because I ran in The Swamp almost every day and I think we were the same year, but probably never in a game because I scalped my tickets for a ridiculous amount of money to a nice couple who didn’t mind paying premium to see what felt like UF’s only losing season. Tray and Wendy B-. I remember them particularly because we had to keep going back to the ATM for the Miami game and then I dropped $500 in twenties in the middle of a spirit parade. I had six inch black liberty spikes at the time and felt like a total asshole money grubbing in the middle of University Ave. But paid cash for my first electric.

Then Boston College. I’m not sure there are any Saints that were Eagles, but BC was home of Doug Flutie, originator of the Hail Mary, my favorite play (both metaphorically and in the game). I even wrote a super cryptic poem about it, published it and everything – “hail marys every play,” the first line of which addresses what I’m trying to get at here in a roundabout way: “college ball gets a bad rap in the coffee in cemetaries set – italian v-necks trumping orange spice breezes and morning bloody mary’s, ripped brim caps and whales so wide you dream of scrimshaw.”

Which is to say: we’re not really the kind of people who care about football. And excuse that “we” if you care deeply; you know what I mean. But, for a lot of New Orleanians this Saint’s thing isn’t really about football. It’s about Katrina and vindication and not losing. It’s cathected and divine (I know I use that phrase too much, but this is a benediction). Which is funny because before they started winning games – Post-Katrina – we were all pissed because the city was spending millions of dollars to keep the team in New Orleans. And thousands of people were living in FEMA trailers and agitating for a scaling back or altogether dissolution of the Saints franchise. Because then it was a franchise, not a team, and I think everyone thought it was going to turn into a Utah Jazz situation.

You don’t really hear about that now, though, because the Saints have become bigger than themselves, bigger even than a team. If you take Kermit Ruffins jams as gospel – and a lot of people do – they are New Orleans. But not for me – I’m a little removed; it’s been a long time now since I’ve lived in the city and I don’t necessarily need or want a football team to Vindicate, or signify The Vindication of, New Orleans. But all those people down there, the ones that are superstitious as hell and who, against their better judgement and caught up in the moment, hung their forty dollar fleur-de-lis branded psychic hats on a football team that didn’t even register enough to disappoint me in my formative years when I cared about football…

I hope the Saints win it for them.

• synesthesia (writing)
• the week i got stolen
• AMR Podcast #22: Poetry of Departures/Two Feminists