With the General Purpose Non-Denominational Federal Winter Holiday fast approaching, we here at moosedenied would like to take this opportunity to wish those of you who regularly subject yourself to this here blog a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, kwaaaazy Kwanzaa, tip-top Tet, and solemn, dignified Ramadan.

The Aughts are about to finally come to a merciful end as well. Holy crap did this decade blow something fierce. The Federal Flood, 9/11, American Idol, Toby Keith, Brett Favre's annual retirements, Myspace, Vince from ShamWow, Joe the Plumber, Dr. Phil, Sarah Palin, Windows Vista, Kenny Chesney, the Unknown Who Dat, and on and on. See you in hell, Aughts. Eat shit and die.

Not that there weren't a handful of good things about the decade. Not the least of which was the dawning of the Golden Age of Saints Football.

The three playoff seasons equal those of the 90s, but the Aughts win the tiebreaker because they were spread out, rather than all three at the beginning of the decade, followed by seven years of shit. The Aughts also produced seven non-losing seasons, vs. only four in the 90s.

In the Aughts, we didn't have to endure the end of the Dome Patrol, nor did we have to watch the best head coach in franchise history go all supernova. Ditka's shenanigans and Haslett's shenanigans are a wash. Ditka's idiocracy lasted half as long, which is nice, but Haslett's six years at least produced a playoff win. And while the 90s began with the Saints at their highest point in franchise history, the Aughts are ending with the Saints at an even higher point than that.

Clearly this has been the best decade in Saints history. So let's reminisce, shall we? In Top 10 List form, of course. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of rule about that in effect for the next week or so.

#10 – December 13, 2009
Saints improve to 13-0

This one is at #10 because, in the grand scheme of things, it's the least meaningful of the bunch. On the other hand, it's on the list in the first place because it's probably a once in a lifetime kind of thing. The Saints will probably never again be so close to an undefeated regular season. Not necessarily because the Saints will never be this good again, but just because the odds are so overwhelmingly against any team going 13-0 in any year, let alone 16-0.

As fans, our confidence and our enjoyment of our favorite team were (and still are) at an all-time high. Was anybody really, honestly this confident when Jim Haslett and Aaron Brooks were heading to up Minnesota in 2000? Or when the Saints were facing an NFC Championship Game at night at a snowy Soldier Field? You might have been pretty close just after halftime of a certain game in January, 1993. But I don't think anybody honestly thought the Saints were the best team in the NFC that year, and you knew that Dallas and San Francisco were looming large even if Bobby hadn't crapped his pants in the second half.

But a couple weeks ago, the Saints were as "unbeatable" as they'd ever been, and we're not likely to ever witness a run like that again. How can that not be a top 10 moment?

#9 – January 5, 2000
Saints fire Mike Ditka, Bill Kuharich and just about everybody else

True to form for the Saints (and for this here blog) #9 is the first of three "greatest moments" based on firings. To this day, I still can't figure out which firing was more important, Ditka or Kuharich. On the other hand, I suppose neither may have mattered much on its own. The total housecleaning though? Well, that sure did start the decade off right. God only knows how the rest of the decade may have played out if it weren't for this first crucial step.

I don't hate Ditka, never did and probably never will. Sure, he was and is a boob. But I like boobs. A lot. Seriously, a whole lot. I mean, I really… but I digress.

These days, I'm loathe to admit it, but I wholeheartedly supported Ditka's hiring, and I had high hopes for Ditka's Saints. I even defended the whole Ricky Williams thing for far longer than any sane person would have. Back in the summer of 1999, I sat at a table at Ditka's restaurant in Chicago across from Chris Rose, and I drunkenly swore up and down that Ditka knew exactly what he was doing, and nobody was gonna give a shit about the picks in January. Now let's never speak of that again.

Hey, at least he gave us Ink Aleaga. On the other hand (literally) he also gave us the finger. Then he grabbed his crotch and stole millions of Tom Benson's money. The Williams trade set the franchise back like few other single moves have ever set a franchise back. Then again, had the Williams deal never gone down, Hakim never drops the ball. Because the Saints' quarterback in 2000 isn't Jeff Blake or Aaron Brooks. It's Cade McNown. Guh.

#8 — May 10, 2002
Saints fire Randy Mueller

Funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it? At the time, heads exploded. Mine included. After all, he was the 2000 Executive of the Year. The guy who had brought us Jeff Blake, Aaron Brooks, Deuce McAllister and 2000 Coach of the Year Jim Haslett. And he had just salvaged a hell of a lot more than most of us expected for Ricky Williams.

At the time, it was Arnold Fielkow who was supposedly the asshole in this whole thing. God knows I screamed it from the rooftops. And then the old man goes and puts Mickey Loomis the bean counter in charge? All because of a dispute over "management style?" A "lack of communication" with a guy who all of a sudden fancied himself a "hands-on" owner and wasn't referring to his hands gripping the handle of a parasol? Sure, Mueller had recently interviewed for another gig… with the Falcons. Yikes. Still, clearly the old man is insane.

It wasn't long though before some seriously crazy shit started floating around. I can't vouch for the veracity of any of it, but I grew to believe most of it. And you did too, probably.

What I do know for sure is that the best thing Randy Mueller ever did for the Saints, he did while serving as the GM of the Dolphins. He delivered us Drew Brees. Aside from that, his stint as the Dolphins' GM was as short-lived and unremarkable as was his stint as the Saints' GM.

Meanwhile, Mickey Loomis has been as good a GM as this franchise has ever had, probably the best. Oh sure, everybody but Bobby loves Jim Finks, may he rest in peace. But I'll take Mickey, thank you very much. As it turned out, Mueller to Loomis was like Unser finally retiring and Hale taking over. (Understand that reference, win a suite of fabulous prizes.)

And Arnold Fielkow turned out to be anything but an asshole. Joe Horn talked the talk, but Arnie walked the walk. Just goes to show… "You think you know, but you don't know. And you never will." Who'd have figured it would play out anything like it did?

#7 — January 2, 2006
Saints fire Jim Haslett

I'm gonna stop talking about firings after this one, I promise.

If not for the Federal Flood and the Saints' subsequent refusal to heed the sage wisdom of Tom Petty, they might not have gone 3-13 in 2005. But they probably wouldn't have been much better than that. The wheels had already long since come off.

I mean, for the love of fuck. They were playing poker and rolling bones in the damn locker room, for crying out loud. Assholes were stealing money out of teammates' lockers. Cheerleaders were allegedly being impregnated. (Disclaimer: That's not a specific accusation of anyone in particular, of course. I'm sure cheerleaders are being impregnated every year all over the league. Yeah, so don't sue, okay? Cool.) GMs were allegedly misappropriating funds for purposes of… well… (Once again, not talking about anyone in particular here.) Dudes were allegedly banging teammates' spouses and significant others. (Again…) Aaron Brooks was refusing to throw Hail Marys because they might fuck up his stats. It was fucking Attica.

(I'd just like to pause for a second here, because it's been far too long since I've said this… fuck Kendyl Jacox. You sir are a huge bag of douche. Eat a dick. And another. And another. Fuck you.)

I remember having the WWL 870 web stream going all day, waiting for the news and fearing it wouldn't come. When it did, it was like Hakim dropping the ball all over again.

In my defense, during the search that resulted in Haslett, I wanted Kubiak and Capers in that order. So don't blame me, I voted for Kodos. On the other hand, from the Grandmaster Wrong files… I have to confess that in 2006, my choice was Mike Sherman. In fact, I remember listening to Payton's press conference when he was in town for his interview, and my gut reaction being "Get this chump out of here asap. Dude's WAY in over his head." Good thing Loomis is the GM and not me. Or Mueller. Or Kuharich.

#6 — January 13, 2007
Saints are one win away from the Super Bowl

Dulymus. 'Nuff said.

Fuck da Eagles Chick vs. the Unknown Who Dat… ¿Quién es más macho? Something tells me that Uncle Bill's Maxim spread isn't going to be nearly as well received as Heather's was.

For another few weeks at least, this moment remains the closest the Saints have ever come to the Ultimate Goal. And that was great, but it was extra special because of Dulymus. It was his night, right from the 12 yard run on the first play from scrimmage. How could it have been anyone else?

163 total yards including 143 rushing, 2 touchdowns on 2 straight 3rd quarter drives. The first of which came right after a 62 yard touchdown run by Brian Westbrook which put the Eagles up by 8 and could have been the beginning of the end. But Dulymus wasn't having any of that shit. He got the ball on 4 of 7 plays on that drive, including that iconic 5 yard touchdown run that was just so Deuce. On the second, Dulymus accounted for all of the final 34 yards on two plays — a 23 yard run to the 11, and then a screen in which he juked Sean Considine Jeremiah Trotter (thanks, Shawn) right out of his jock to break the play for the touchdown. Just an unbelievable performance all night by #26 in your program, #1 in your heart.

This time, it'll be Drew. But that night, it had to be Deuce. It just had to be. And boy was it ever.

And Heather? Well, she put the icing on the cake. Unlike this year's plucked-from-obscurity late-season object of ridiculously overbearing fan mania, Heather had my full endorsement right from the start. Because she actually did something to deserve it. Specifically, she was hot. And she ironed an f-bomb onto her shirt. My kinda girl.

#5 — April 29, 2006
Draft Day 2006

This one was all about the Reg. Actually, that's not quite right. It was really more about this. At the time, nobody knew that Reggie would end up being the third best player the Saints selected that weekend. But that doesn't really matter. What made it great wasn't that it turned out to be one of the top 3 or 4 most productive drafts in Saints history (although that's pretty freakin' sweet too.) What made it great was the vibe.

It was already probably the most anticipated Saints draft weekend since 1998. Having the second overall pick tends to do that. Add in the most hyped player coming out of college in a long long time, maybe ever, and the increasing likelihood as the day approached that he wasn't going to be the first overall pick, and you have the recipe for some serious fun.

Even the fans who didn't necessarily want the Saints to select Reggie were all lathered up over the prospect of being on the other side of another Ricky Williams type draft day blockbuster. The good side this time.

You might be shocked to know that I was not one of those people. In the week leading up to the draft, I fully bought into the Reggie hype. I was of the opinion that a tailback wasn't a "need" and originally had been hoping for the blockbuster trade and the king's ransom. But in the last few days before the draft, it became harder and harder to resist the feeling of "Holy shit, we're gonna get Reggie fuckin' Bush!" And by the time the pick was announced, I was dancing a jig as much as the next guy. (Didn't step out of bounds though.) Bobby's, Detillier's and Hokie's absolute giddiness helped quite a bit too. Even better than that was the old man's giddiness. I mean, how can you not get swept up in the euphoria when you've got Tom Benson himself shouting "We goin to da Supa Bo !!!"

I give Reggie a ton of shit, I know. And I make no apologies for it. But you may be even more shocked to know that there's never been any doubt in my mind that it was the right decision to draft him. And if they could do it all over again and they left it up to me, I'd draft him again. In fact, in my opinion, it was the only decision they could have made, in the absence of a ridiculously Ditka-esque trade offer. And since that wasn't the case, they couldn't take anyone else at the 2 spot. They just couldn't.

Why so high a ranking though? Why does an offseason weekend rate higher than a playoff win and a 13-0 record? Because neither of those things happen without Marques Colston and Jahri Evans.

#4 — March 14, 2006
Signing Drew

How do you take a 3-13 team and bring them to the NFC Championship Game the very next season? You release your douchebag quarterback and sign a guy with magical powers.

This is gonna sound really convenient, but I swear it's 100% true…… I knew it all along. Okay, fine, maybe "knew" is too strong a word. I mean, the shoulder and all. Nobody really could have known for sure how that would turn out, and only an idiot would have considered it a complete non-issue. But without that shoulder injury, Drew never ends up in the black & gold. Best. Injury. EVER.

The day the news (in a manner of speaking) broke that the Saints were going to target Drew in free agency, someone on a message board I used to frequent asked: "So, what do you think?" My response, quoting Jerry Seinfeld: "I think it's fantastic, it's a fantastic idea." I couldn't have been more on board with it.

Not only had I long since seen quite enough of the Aaron Brooks Experience, thank you very much, but I had also been a big fan of Drew since the Purdue days. I know, I know, that's what they all say now. I'm just gonna have to ask you to trust me here. A good friend of mine went to grad school at Purdue, and for the last 10 years or so, if there's football on tee vee, he and I are usually sitting in front of the same one. And we watched Purdue whenever their game was on and there wasn't a better game on. And when there was a better game on, the Purdue game was the flippage during commercials. We used to marvel at Drew to Vinny Sutherland, Montrell Lowe and crew. Drew was amazing, even back then, and we used to wax hopeful about "What if the Saints had that guy?!?"

Some eight years removed from our first "Wow, that guy is a stud" moment, ESPN's ticker read "Dolphins acquire Daunte Culpepper from Vikings" and my head exploded. Then I danced a headless jig for several hours. It was quite difficult making the 100 phone calls I made to hip any and every other interested party to the breaking news. Especially since most of them didn't believe me. Six years earlier, nobody had a problem believing the Jeff Blake news. But this? This was just a little too good to be true. No way in hell Nick Saban folded. No way in hell Drew chose post-K New Orleans over Miami. No way in hell Loomis outbid Mueller. No way in hell the Dolphins chose Culpepper over Drew. "These things happen to other people. They don't happen at all, in fact." (Once again, get the reference, win fabulous prizes.)

But it did happen, didn't it? And it changed everything. Nothing that's happened since happens without that. None of it.

#3 — December 30, 2000
Hakim Drops The Ball

"Gowin on 4th and 14 will punt it away. He hangs it very high, angling it for the near sideline. HAKIM DROPS THE BALL!!! HAKIM DROPS THE BALL!!! Brian Milne might have fallen on it at the 10 yard line! And it's the New Orleans Saints' football! Brian Milne, the most unlikely hero of them all, falls on the fumble, the muff by Hakim! There is a god after all!!!"

No further elaboration necessary.

But I will anyway. Hakim's drop is quite rightly the iconic moment. But boy was I having a shitload more fun at 31-7 back in the early part of the 4th quarter. That's when I started tearing up. I mean, game over… right? RIGHT? Surely there's no way in hell the Rams come back from….

Brian Milne was clearly The Most Unlikely Hero Of Them All, but unlikely heroes were the order of the day. Robert Wilson. Sammy Knight, twice. Willie Jackson, 3 times. Aaron Brooks, 4 times. And this was before Brooks turned into a huge dickface. (I feel like I need to clarify here re: Sammy Knight being an "unlikely" hero. It's only because, at that time, anybody picking Warner off twice in a game was both unlikely and heroic.)

No Jeff Blake, no Ricky Williams, no Joe Horn. I still have no idea how anything that happened that day was even possible. I'm not sure I ever will.

To this day, I still get chills. I still tear up over Hendu's call. And by that, I mean, I literally just now got chills on this very day. And I just teared up over Hendu's call. I'm such a girl. But so are you, so shut up.

#2 — September 25, 2006
New Birth. Rebirth. Trombone Shorty.

Again, no elaboration necessary. And, again, chills. Tearing up. Jeez, I really need to finish this post and go fart, or scratch my balls, or something else sufficiently manly.

I'd elaborate on my own personal experience that night, but I don't consider myself worthy. I wasn't there. I haven't been there since long before the Federal Flood. My perspective on that night, while genuine and heartfelt, is ultimately an outsider's perspective. A view from afar.

And, when it comes to that night, an outsider's view just doesn't cut it. I'm a native. Born & raised, but expatriated long before 2005. And that makes all the difference. The moment was just far too profound for anyone who wasn't down in it to truly "get it." And I'd feel like a presumptuous douche if I were to wax self-indulgent with my own personal testimony. (This time. Heh. Beyond that, I promise NOTHING.) Quiet reverence and an eternal mancrush on Steve Gleason will just have to suffice.

#1 — April 30, 2009
Saints to stay in New Orleans through 2025

Really? #1 is some shit that happened in a boardroom somewhere? A bunch of assholes in suits (and pantsuits) haggling over money? Seriously? Over Hakim? Over Gleason's block? A fucking series of business meetings?

Yep.

Because does any of it amount to a pile of shit if the Saints were to relocate? Because, if not for our #1, that might very well have been only a couple months away at this point. It would have cast a pall over everything, as it has a number of times in the past. Who could truly enjoy all this under those circumstances?

I'm not nearly qualified to offer an intelligent opinion on the politics or the fiscal implications of any of it. I'm just a Saints fan. A NEW ORLEANS Saints fan. No more, certainly no less. And, as such, all I know is that the most important thing is that they remain the NEW ORLEANS Saints. Without that, the rest of it doesn't mean jack shit.

All I know is that, as profoundly beautiful as the whole 2005 "Save Our Saints" resistance movement was, I never want to have to witness anything like that again. Ever. It was beautiful, but it was also horrible. It was horrible in that it had to happen in the first place, that is. By whatever means necessary, never again. Never, ever again.

And to the extent that this made that possible, how could anything else be #1?