When the Houston Oilers split for Nashville, I found myself searching for a NFL team to adopt. As a native Houstonian, there was just no way that I could make myself a Dallas Cowboys fan. Especially if I wanted to keep my self-respect.
I adopted the New Orleans Saints. The team had a lot of similarities to the Oilers. Both had never really accomplished anything in their existence. They had had some really talented players come through and waste their careers on bad teams. And at the least the Saints didn’t have the history of the Oilers when it came about to choking away big playoff leads.
So needless to say, I’m happy about the Saints winning yesterday — though not quite as happy as the people of New Orleans are. But I did wager some money in Vegas on the Saints back before the season, and I picked them to win the Super Bowl, so let’s just say I’m hoping the Saints can handle the Colts in two weeks.
I’ve got another reason for pulling for the Saints. After all, just several years ago, the Saints were a team like the Houston Texans. They were awful, coming off of 3-13 season in which they were overturning the entire roster while bringing in a new coach and a new quarterback. This was the same off season when the Texans were making massive changes under the guidance of brand new head coach Gary Kubiak
But while the Texans have continued to flail around in mediocrity, the Saints are playing for the title.
But at least the Texans have a bunch of players heading to the Pro Bowl
next week. I don’t really see where that’s something worth being
pleased about. Then again, I’m not a PR flack for the Texans.
And who
knows, maybe next season, while the Texans are still unable to defeat
the teams in the AFC South and thus miss the playoffs, they can again
brag about the number of players in the Pro Bowl. I’m sure, however, if
you ask the Saints fans, they’ll take a Super Bowl over a Pro Bowl any
day.
And let’s hear it for the Saints. They didn’t accept losing. They
weren’t happy with mediocrity — unlike the people running for, or
cheering for, the Texans. They’ve put together a true high-powered
offense that does more than just put up big stat numbers. The Saints
can actually score points on good defenses and within the red zone. The
defense is also one of the better ones in the NFL; it is run by Gregg
Williams, a former head coach who is known for his aggressive defenses
— he never worked for the Denver Broncos, However, and he is a known
and proven commodity, which is undoubtedly the reason he could have
never worked for the Texans or Gary Kubiak.
I’m thrilled for the
Saints, and their fans. I hope the Texans fans will take a good look at
the Saints. There’s no reason the Texans couldn’t be in the position
the Saints are in right now. These two teams were at the same point
four years ago. But the Saints chose to win. The Texans chose
mediocrity. And there’s nothing to indicate that that situation is
going to be changing anytime soon.
This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2010.
