New Orleans Saints Success Inspires More Than a Feeling

The feeling was different this time around.

As the Saints trailed the Dolphins 24-3 in the second quarter, Chad Henne went under center again trying to push his team to a few more points right before the half.

At this point a year ago, it would have been understood there would be no way the Saints would be able to come back from a deficit that big.

But the feeling was different.

Every member of the Who Dat nation knows “the feeling.”

It’s when the Saints trick us into believing they’ll actually turn a corner and surprise us all by coming through in the clutch, then blow the whole thing in dramatic fashion.

Thus, our doubts and and suspicions are reaffirmed, as they have been so many times in the past.

In this particular instance, the Saints have been turning corners and pleasantly surprising us through the first six games of the season. 

On Sunday in Land Shark Stadium, they were in prime position to blow another opportunity yet again.

Now, I don’t know about the rest of the Saints fans out there, but for once—and hopefully for the last time in a long time—I never got “the feeling.”

My true knee-jerk gut reaction at that moment before the end of the second quarter was if the Saints could score before halftime, they would still be in decent shape.

A Scott Shanle fumble recovery and a Drew Brees touchdown sneak a few plays later, the Saints were only down 14.

Knowing full well now the Saints were going to come back and beat the Dolphins, I sat and pondered this new feeling of euphoric optimism. 

The game itself was mere background noise at this point.

The doubt, the dread, the pessimism, the distrust, the cynicism...Brees seemed to wipe it all away as he extended his arms over Miami’s goal line with no time left in the first half, football securely in hand.   

And the funny thing is I knew it was real, that this new “feeling” was legit, because there was never a moment I doubted or thought twice about what the outcome of the game was going to be. 

I knew it was real because every time I get “the (old) feeling,” I usually end up being right. The Saints blow it and I reluctantly tell myself, “I told you so,” before doing it over again the next week.

What I felt on Sunday wasn’t THE feeling, but it was certainly A feeling. A “new feeling,” if you will.

It was a feeling that told me even though the Saints were down and the game was two quarters away from over, the Saints were not going to lose. 

Obviously, the first time the Saints suffer their first blowout loss, the naysayers and boo-birds will start chirping about how they knew the Saints were, in fact, mortal.

And that’s fine.

The difference is a loss like that is no longer enough to break a team that has seen its hopes and dreams broken so many times before. Because it’s no longer about wins and losses, or home-field advantages, or division records, or any of that stuff. 

It’s about how the Saints, through their hard work, dedication, and commitment to each other, have expelled “the feeling” from our collective consciousness.

Losing is no longer an excuse to hang our heads. With this team, it’s a reason to get better and let the next team know that what happened the previous week won’t happen again.

That’s uncharted territory for Saints fans, but damn it, we deserve to finally feel like the folks in New England, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis for a change.

And all over “a feeling,” you say?

Yes, it may be a little premature, and for all I know the Saints may lose out (doubt it).

But it doesn’t change the fact that for at least this Saints fan, “the feeling” is gone from the pit of my stomach. And I know I’m not alone.

These aren’t your grandfather’s, or even your dad’s or your cousin’s Saints.

These are Saints of a new generation, a team whose shortcomings we can forgive and look past because we know there won’t be many of them.

And that’s a really good feeling.