Surely, This is the End of Days

Allow me to begin this post with a joke we tell around here from time to time:

Satan was making the rounds through Hell one day. He came upon Boudreau, who was sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of his house. Deciding to torment him a little, Satan teased, "Hot enough down here for you, Boudreau?

To which Boudreau replied, "Aw man, I tell you. Dis here wedder is great! It reminds me of June down on da bayou!"

Satan walked away, feeling confused. He decided to turn up the heat on Boudreau and see how he liked it. A week later he went back to Boudreau's and found him sitting in his rocking chair. "How's it feel now, Boudreau? I turned the heat up just for you!"

To which Boudreau replied, "Aw, dis here wedder is jus' fine! It reminds me of July down on da bayou! I feels right at home, me. Tanks, mister devil."

Satan walked away again, and he was furious this time. He went to hell's thermostat and turned it up as far as it would go. A week later he visited Boudreau's place again, certain that he would find him withering away and begging for mercy. "Have you learned your lesson, Boudreau? Aren't you suffering now?"

Still rocking away in his chair, Boudreau gave a big grin and said, "Aw man, I tell you. Dis here reminds me of August down on da bayou. I couldn't be happier, me."

At this point Satan was beyond all reason. He ran back to the thermostat and turned the knob all the way down. "If he likes things so hot, let's see how he feels when it's freezing in here!" When he went back, he was pleased to see Boudreau with his arms wrapped around himself, shivering like crazy. "Aha, are you too cold, Boudreau? How do you like the frozen hell compared to burning hell?

Boudreau gave a big grin, and said, "M-m-man-n-n, d-d-dis here wedder is g-g-great!"

"How can you say that!" roared Satan. "You look like you're about to fall apart!"

"Dat's b-because since hell done froze over, dat means da Saints done won the Super Bowl!"

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Of course the Saints have not won the Super Bowl, nor are they favored to do so. But the mere fact that they are playing in the game this Sunday has shaken the foundations of the world that Saints fans know. This just isn't supposed to happen. All year long I kept expecting Rod Serling to show up at the front door, telling me that we've been moved to a different dimension where everything we know is wrong. Hearing announcers talk about how good the Saints are and picking them to win important games is beyond extraordinary.

I've heard a couple of people say that they're surprised at how much more emotional they are about the Saints winning than when LSU won the BCS title in 2003. I've felt the same way, but I'm not as surprised as others are. College football--and perhaps especially SEC football--is just as much about who you hate (maybe more) as who you love. LSU fans cheer hard for LSU, but they also hate half a dozen other SEC teams to some degree. This allows us to gain satisfaction when our enemies lose, which happens at least a few times a year.

Saints fans love the Saints, hate the Cowboys and dislike the Falcons. That's about it, and even then hating the Cowboys is not an identifying characteristic for Saints fans in the same way that "Go to hell, Ole Miss!" is for LSU fans. The identifying characteristics are instead cheering for the Saints, shouting, "Who Dat!" and never expecting to make the Super Bowl. I admit to tearing up whenever I see one of the videos about what the Saints' success has meant to the city and fans all over Louisiana. Gets me every time.

From what I've heard, people are pouring into New Orleans to celebrate the Super Bowl. Not Miami, where the game is being held, but New Orleans. They want to be there when it all goes down. I've thought about it myself, to be honest. A parade for the Saints has been planned for Tuesday, win or lose. It might seem strange to celebrate a team that just lost the Super Bowl, but I think a lot of Saints fans feel that we've already won. The actual result of the game is just off to the side. Just as long as the players and coaches don't feel that way, that's fine.

This article from NOLA.com sums things up pretty well. I particularly liked this quote:

"Hugging strangers is a proud Who Dat tradition, right up there with crying when we win.

Most sports fans cry when their teams lose. Not us. We've been losing gracefully and with good humor for 43 years. Tragedy and disappointment don't faze us. It's success that makes us go to pieces....

...

So anyway, don't let the tears of joy freak you out. We're just ... disoriented.

As for the game itself, a lot of attention is paid to Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. Dwight Freeney's ankle has been a big story as well. People have kept saying guys like Dallas Clark and Reggie Bush are X factors. I tend to look at Pierre Thomas ad Mike Bell for the Saints. If Sean Payton decides that he just wants to maul and mash Indianapolis up front, Thomas and Bell could be worth keeping an eye on.