'87 Saints Were a Gift From Above

Boston baseball fans can relate.  Certainly, Cubs and Clippers supporters know the pain.

New Orleans Saints fans have suffered like few others through years of of frustration and futility. 

But what the 2004 Sox were to Boston, so were the Saints of 1987 to the city of New Orleans.

It was the type of script so cheesy that no one in Tinseltown would give it a second look; A team from South Louisiana, losers for 21 years, guided by a quarterback nicknamed "The Cajun Cannon" and inspired by an emotional head coach's rant known locally as the "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" speech.

Saints fans had never seen a winning season, let alone the playoffs.  Only twice had its beloved NFL franchise broken even at 8-8.  That all began to change with one impassioned post-game oration from a frustrated head coach, Jim Mora.

"The Saints ain't good enough," Mora exclaimed. "We're close, and close don't mean s**t. I'm tired of coming close. I'm pissed off right now. You bet your a** I am. I'm sick of coulda, woulda, shoulda, coming close."

It was the tirade heard 'round the bayou.  Mora's team promptly reeled off 9 straight wins, securing the club's first-ever playoff berth.

All this from a team that had never won more than three in a row in its bleak history.

Adding to the local frenzy was the cast of characters.  Quarterback Bobby Hebert (pronounced A-bear for those whose hail from outside the bayou) was tough, gritty, fiery competitor with a temper as hot as cayenne pepper.  He spoke with a Cajun accent that put a grin on the faces of locals.

Two of Hebert's favorite weapons were wide receiver Eric Martin and running back Dalton Hilliard... both products of Louisiana's flagship university, LSU.

Martin's style was a no-frills, blue collar, get-it-done one.  Often described as "sneaky fast," no one could figure out how Martin got so wide open so often. 

And if the ball was within Martin reach, it could be considered caught. 

Hilliard brought an elusive, cat-quick style to the table.  Hall-of-fame safety Ronnie Lott once described Hilliard as the "toughest player in the league to bring down."

But the most feared, most renowned group of players was the foursome know as the "Dome Patrol."   The Saints 3-4 defense featured outside linebackers Rickey Jackson and Pat Swilling and inside stalwarts Vaughan Johnson and the late Sam Mills.

This group was recently named by NFL Network as the best set of linebackers ever. 

And who can forget the birth of the "Benson Boogie?"  Owner Tom Benson's post game celebrations are now legendary in the Big Easy.  Benson playfully and awkwardly danced around the Superdome floor while carrying an elaborately decorated umbrella.

Those Mardi Gras-like celebrations were a perfect microcosm of the mood of a city riding cloud 9.  Saints fans finally had a winner and a season to which it could point to with pride.

Few who experienced the euphoria that was the 1987 Saints season will ever forget it.

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