The Saints strived to win against the Minnesota Vikings, and they were victorious! Even though in 1987 and 2000 the Saints lost against the Vikings, having a win against them was the best feeling. Winning with a score of 31-28, the ‘Who Dat Nation’ went crazy. With the applause of the crowd, the winning 40-yard field goal made by Garret Hartley was the biggest event New Orleans had experienced since the tragic Hurricane Katrina five years ago. Hartley’s amazing kick made many recall the legendary goal authored by 1970’s Tom Dempsey, when his kick attempt at a 63- yard field goal led Saints to a success against the Detroit Lions.
For older Saints fans, having the Saints go to the Super Bowl after 41 years was the best thing ever. “We’ve waited a long time for this,” said Ronald Smith, “For us, to make it is great; if we don’t win, it won’t really matter as long as we can say our boys made it there.”
Making it to the Super Bowl was a long and hard struggle for the Saints because of how much previous fans lost faith in them. Since the start of the Saints football career in 1967, they have not had a perfect season.
The closest they had come to a perfect season was in 1979, when they lost to the Oakland Raiders on Dec. 3 with a score of 42-35. Also, in 1983, they were close to the playoffs. For their final game, they played against the Los Angeles Rams and lost with an ending score of 26-24.
Before that period in time, the Saints were known for having losing seasons and wonderful coaches for other teams, but horrible coaches once traded or appointed to the Saints. But this season they proved all the doubting fans wrong, and a lot of people who weren’t fans hopped on the bandwagon.
As it was a challenge to prove fans wrong, it will be a challenge as well as a good game playing against the Indianapolis Colts. All Saints fans know Peyton Manning and the Colts are not going to make it easy for us, so we shall see the outcome on Feb. 7th.
Lacey Mayo is a freshman mass communication major from New Orleans.