Deuce McAllister re-signs with New Orleans Saints: Right Time for Right Reasons

Since the end of Wild Card weekend, Saints fans have had no problem finding a reason to unleash their special brand of voodoo in the Superdome on Saturday.

But for good measure, the Saints front office pulled a move that reeked of the blackest magic when they re-signed Deuce McAllister on Friday.

It's reported that Deuce's involvement will consist of no more than the pre-game coin toss.

But the damage has already been done.

New Orleans is already abuzz about the move; it's all over local sports talk radio and it's the lead story for most local sports broadcasts.

I can't recall in recent memory the fervor that was generated by a player that, for all intents and purposes, will have absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of a professional sporting event.

Saints GM Mickey Loomis et al should be applauded for their efforts.

Just when the combination of Bourbon Street and a home playoff game seemed like enough to get Saints fans in the mood, Loomis does the equivalent of buying the Superdome crowd a round of drinks in the fourth quarter.

The mere thought that one of the most beloved Saints of all time might be keeping out a watchful eye in some suite or press box at the divisional playoff game would be enough to cause a riot.

So it's probably a good thing the team announced his return a day before the game instead of during. 

But this isn't just Deuce showing up on the big screen, flashing a smile and waving.

He's back on the team, on the field, and ready to go, even though he most likely won't get that chance this weekend.

The capacity of Deuce's presence brings Saints fans back to the 2006 divisional playoffs.

At home against the Philadelphia Eagles, Deuce rushed for 143 yards and scored two touchdowns.

The most memorable, of course, was his bruising bull rush from five yards out—wherein he carried seemingly all 21 other athletes on the field into the end zone.

That's what Saints fans have been thinking about all Friday afternoon. 

And it's that type of reminiscing that will bring the pot of simmering "who dat" gumbo to an absolute boil.

Who's to say why Sean Payton wanted Deuce back? Maybe he really is worried about Pierre Thomas' cracked ribs.

Fair enough.

Or maybe Payton is planning ahead to next week, when the Saints could be faced with the daunting task of wearing down the defensive fronts of either Minnesota or Dallas.

Perhaps.

But the option that we'd all like to believe—and may very well be the case— is that Deuce deserves to be a part of this.

A year after Deuce's release, the Saints roll off 13 wins in a row en route to a No. 1 seed in the NFC. 

To those out of the loop, it may seem that the move paid off. In reality, it couldn't be further from the truth.

Deuce was here since before the beginning, helping lay the foundation for the house that Brees built.

Again, kudos to Payton and all those that made this move possible.

Call it charity if you want, but there's no place in the world that Deuce deserves to be more than on the sidelines of the black and gold while they make a run at Miami.

All of a sudden, the idea of Archie Manning warming up for the NFC Championship Game doesn't seem so far-fetched.