Bet it never crossed your mind that you'd remember Garrett Hartley for the rest of your life, did it?
If you don't mind, I'm going to leave the emoting and broader-context "what this means to the city and its people" stuff to people who are far better at it than I would be. No talk of kharma or divine intervention. No reminiscing about the bad old days and what a long time coming it's been. Those are all beautiful things, important things, powerful and inspirational things. Things that we'll be talking about for the rest of our lives. But for now, my mind is still focused solely on this football team. MY football team. The best damn football team in the NFC, bar none, without a doubt. A team that, in two weeks, will be crowned the best team in the whole damn National Football League. Because, make no mistake about it… We got this.
So what do you think… surely Marteen Gramatica makes that kick. Right? Olindo Mare?
My mom's not a sports fan. In fact, I used to drive her crazy when I was a kid with all the sports stuff. She couldn't stand it. But being as she still lives in SELA, and because she knows how much I've been enjoying this whole thing, she's been paying attention lately. It blew my mind yesterday when she told me that she actually watched the game Sunday night. The whole thing! Eventually the conversation turned to the end of the game, and how nervous she was "…when that little insignificant-looking guy was coming in to kick the ball." I LOL'd.
Then he ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NAILED the kick, took off his helmet, and my mom's assessment changed radically. "Oh, he looks like a sweetheart. He's precious!" Again I LOL'd.
Brian Milne, please make room at the table. The head of the table, in fact. And bartender, keep 'em coming. Forever.
I have to confess that the emotions of the moment were considerably different than I had expected. When Hakim dropped the ball, I sobbed like a baby. I figured it would probably be that times ten this time, but it wasn't. This time, I didn't shed a single tear. Maybe I will eventually, maybe it still hasn't fully sunk in. I don't know.
It certainly wasn't any less significant, emotionally or otherwise. For damn sure, it wasn't any less thrilling and joyful. It was just different, it was a whole different vibe. It wasn't time for tearful introspection, not for me anyway. It was just fuckin' party time. It was time for hooting and hollering and running around with no pants and disturbing the peace and just going batshit insane.
God knows I love the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. God knows I appreciate the bigger-than-football bond we have with our team, and with one another. God knows I raise my glass to those who came before, and those whose time came too early to witness the day we've waited for so long to finally arrive.
But for now, for me anyway, this time it's all about them. Our football team. Our heroes. And never before have I used the term heroes to describe our Saints more pointedly than I do today. Not just because of what they've accomplished, but because it couldn't have happened to a better group of people. It's not just about what they've done, it's about who they are. It's about how they've carried themselves and how they've handled their business. More than any Saints team that's come before them, these Saints deserve it. They've earned it.
To (semi-accurately, from memory) quote Coach Payton: "We don't carry the burdens of the past on our shoulders. This is our deal."
There were times during the season when I had my doubts, but it can be said now with 100% certainty: The New Orleans Saints are the best team in the NFC. They have been all season. There were times when it might not have been as apparent as we would have preferred, but it was never not the truth. Taking down Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson in consecutive weeks in the playoffs just underscored that fact.
Oh sure, it wasn't as pretty or as dominating as we'd have liked. It certainly wasn't nearly enough to convince all the national media assholes who continue to shit on our heroes and act like they've fallen ass-backwards into the Super Bowl. Be it because Kurt Warner is done and the Cardinals are prone to crapping their pants, or because Brett Favre is reckless and the Vikings handed the Saints the game on a silver platter… 5 times, or because the Saints won a coin flip, or because the quality of NFL officiating continues to reach new depths of capriciousness and inconsistency. And don't expect that to end anytime soon. They're gonna shit on the Saints even as Sean Payton hoists the Lombardi Trophy after his team dispatches its third consecutive Hall of Fame quarterback.
The good news? Fuck them. This is our deal.
I have to confess that I let them get under my skin a little bit last week. Not because I need validation from blowhards who have to look up who the Saints' backup quarterback is, but just because it was a downer. It sucks being so excited, so happy, so hopeful, only to find that wherever you turn, some asshole is telling you that it ain't gonna happen, because they're just not good enough. In fact, they're not even very good at all. Clearly it's just a matter of time until one of the six better teams hands them their asses. And then, the Saints are the ass-handers, and all you hear the following week is how they didn't win it, the opponent lost it.
Same thing this week. But this week, magically, it's no longer a drag. This week, it's just funny. This week, they can all suck it.
"The better team" doesn't put the ball on the carpet six times. "The better team" doesn't turn the ball over five times. "The better team" doesn't shit the bed when a trip to the Super Bowl is on the line. "The better team" doesn't look to the Pants On The Ground Guy to inspire them to victory.
The better team wins the fucking game. The better team has its ordinarily weaker unit step up and carry the ordinarily stronger unit, if that's what it takes. The better team has its unheralded role players step up and buttress the effort. The better team has its players in position to turn yet another of the opposing mercenary douchebag quarterback's patented "gunslinger" throws, which had been coming up gold all fucking season, from yet another game-winning miracle into… well, something else entirely. The better team forces a big handful of turnovers. The better team capitalizes on those turnovers.
And the better team rolls its eyes and scoffs in the general direction of all the coulda woulda shoulda. Sure, maybe the Vikings win by three touchdowns… if only they had played better. Nah, really? The hell you say! Guess what, asshole? The Saints win by three touchdowns if they play better. See how that works?
I'll probably take some shit for this, but I've gotta admit that while I want it for these Saints so badly I can taste it, ultimately I feel like I've already experienced about five Super Bowls this year. And as a result, I can't imagine being pissed off or disappointed in the least if by some chance the Saints don't end up winning it all.
Which isn't to say that I don't care what happens in Miami. Of course I do. Clearly the Saints themselves have the "right" attitude about it when they say things like "We've come all this way, we've gotta win the thing now." Hell yeah, no question about it. This team has had the right attitude about everything all year, no reason to expect any different now.
But as a fan, these Saints have already given me much more than I could reasonably have expected or asked for. 8-0. Demolishing the Mighty Patriots on national tee vee. 13-0. Two consecutive playoff wins against Hall of Fame quarterbacks. An NFC Championship, a Super Bowl berth, and looking ahead, the shortest offseason ever. By far. It's already more than enough for me.
Do I want the championship? Fuck yeah I want it. But not for me. I want it for them.
This is their deal.
And Grandmaster Wang hits ANOTHER one out of the ballpark. You’re fucking Roy Hobbs here!
Well, the movie version of Roy Hobbs, anyway. Didn’t anyone else read the book? no? really? ok.
I digress. This post is made of win.
I love it! I had to send out the paragraphs about the Better team to some of my viking fan friends.
It sucks being so excited, so happy, so hopeful, only to find that wherever you turn, some asshole is telling you that it ain’t gonna happen, because they’re just not good enough. In fact, they’re not even very good at all. Clearly it’s just a matter of time until one of the six better teams hands them their asses. And then, the Saints are the ass-handers, and all you hear the following week is how they didn’t win it, the opponent lost it.
Same thing this week. But this week, magically, it’s no longer a drag. This week, it’s just funny. This week, they can all suck it.
I cried just now reading that. Oh and also at the Dome Sunday night. Oh and in the streets. Oh and all day yesterday too. Oh well.
You nailed it.
Nailed it like Hartley nailed the greatest field goal in Saints history. (Yeah, Dempsey? Move over, yourself.)
So someone takes issue with the idea that (they feel) the Saints benefited from poor officiating?
Please allow me to wax philosophical on that topic for a minute, hoping to clearly articulate some poignant, thought-provoking commentary:
AAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAAHAAHA.
Idiots.
Outstanding again, Wang. The crying, it hit me HARD on Monday morning, but I am a natural crier so I expected it. You want to see a blubbering fool? Perhaps I’ll have my sister film me when they start the national anthem at the Super Bowl. I’ll cry. Tender coca-cola commercial, I’ll cry. But Monday, I was hyperventilating. I just let it out.
I don’t really care what the asses say about our team not being the better one. There was an outstanding analysis on ESPN radio monday .I can’t remember who, but they said, the “better” team does not turn the ball over 5 (nearly 9) times, take a dumb-ass penalty for 12 men in the huddle at a critical time (and it could have been a 15yd personal foul for trying to call 2 timeouts in a row), and make undisciplined decisions. The Better team is the one that may not have the most elite players, but has discipline.
This Saints team is by far the most disciplined I’ve ever seen. How can I tell? Because of the sheer number of times we came within reach of giving the game away, BUT DIDN’T. 60 minutes, never give up.
Let them diss us. We all know the Saints are at their best when the rest of the world doesn’t believe in them. It’s similar to how most people just don’t “get” New Orleans. I heard today, someone say, “New Orleans doesn’t have room for lukewarm people.”
Great post! Being a Saints fan my whole life, I have had to try and find some, no matter how small, connection to one of the two teams in the Superbowl to even care a little about the game, but not this year, it is truly something to care about, and I agree that they have surpassed anything I could have hoped for this year, a win in the Superbowl will just be the cherry on top of the sunday, it will still be a great fucking sunday without the cherry, but lets hope we get that cherry to make it as sweet as possible!!!!!
We are not worthy.
I’ve been walking around since yesterday like I fucked the Prom Queen on Sunday. People around the office have noticed. One person even called it the “Superbowl Swagger.” I corrected them and said it was the “Who Dat Swagger” and that I’ve had it all season.
We got this indeed.
Nicely played. No instant classic, mind you, but nicely played.
But why no mention of Brett Favre’s retirement plans?
Perfect.
The better team punches the f’ing ball out and TAKES what is rightfully theirs. You’re right. They can all suck it.
Bravo Chairman.
:hearts:
The better team’s quarterback doesn’t look like he got jumped in an alley behind a biker bar at the end of the game.
Amazing entry as usual, GW.
I am crying right now. Again.
Amazing post.
The better team doesn’t ground the ball 6 times and blame it on poor play call that resulted in an interception. That’s what I’ve had to drill into my Viking-fan coworker’s head. Favre has done this time & again, but the “better” team will not admit to this.
Fuck the sore losers.
brilliant tune selection btw…
very apropos.
I thought I was gonna cry like a bitch after the game, but I didn’t I just glowed and felt relieved. Going to the quarter afterward was highly entertaining.
I dunno if I’m gonna yell or curse as much at the TV Sunday after next but damnit I want my team to get some rings.
free beer for life…. awesome!
I can only add this:
FUCK YES!!!
Every single solitary word of it. Dead. On. The. Money.
We’ll call it a “Hartley”.
GMW……U have outdone yourself!!!!!!! I can’t disagree with anything you said…..my tears were tears of joy, mixed with tears my Daddy wasn’t alive to experience this memorable season………Gotta replenish the tear ducts for after we DOMINATE the ponies…..WHO DAT
Hey SFiNC, My dad passed away this year. When I got to that part I teared up too. He’s cheering from Heaven now. Who Dat!
SIMPLY AMAZING!
Wang, I’m so glad to see this. I was yelling the exact same things at Neon Deion Sanders (yes, I yell at my TV) and a few other assclowns the day after the game. For some reason I now feel extra-righteous having seen someone else voice the same arguments.
Coolest thing to happen after the game: I live in Bywater, and was outside smoking an illicit victory cigarette after the game. I swear I could hear the dome and downtown in general from my backyard. Horns were honking and I could hear chearing all the way to my house. I think that’s when the victory really hit me. Awesome.
Also, you must be popping like 16 boners with all the comments you’re racking up. I’m glad there’s folks reading this here blog.
Best article ever
I have been in utter denial.
Disbelief….. and I was there……….
It just doesn’t compute that pregnant women around me will birth children who will be born without Saints Super Bowl as an LSU tailgating punchline.
Then, it happened. I heard about the COLTS.
The COLTS worked out two cornerbacks yesterday.
Mike McKenzie and Jason David.
I fell from the clouds of joy. to the rage of battle…..
We have something left to do
Huang, thanks for bringing me back to the football. You reminded me that in order to get all of the big things we want, we have to do the work at hand and focus on the quotidian.
It really is about these guys, these coaches, and what they’ve done. They worked for it. They finally actually did “Earn it.”
I give you props in my (recently anemic) blog.
Second place isn’t what these guys want.
I don’t want second place for New Orleans in ANYTHING. The only way to achieve that is through the work of the day.
well done, wang! you kicked that one through the uprights and into the terrace.
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MY GOD, Dea-ja-veaux……………You made me piss my pants with all that beautiful lingo and mindful graphics. I have wanted to say it but just couldn’t find the words. Great job dude……………….