From Who Dats to Two Dats: Why the Saints Are the NFL's Newest Dynasty

Go ahead and get mad about my using the word "dynasty." Be offended that my choice of words exhibits braggadocio rather than humility. Go ahead and give the usual reaction to the confidence of Saints fans. We're used to it and really don't care. That's what happens when the underdog beats the odds.

All last season the Who Dat Nation tried to convince people that the Saints were for real. Despite their early dominance, people were reluctant to accept that these were not my Daddy's Saints. These new-and-improved Saints made in-game adjustments and had heart. Something about these Saints seemed different.

I could talk all day about the X's and O's but that wouldn't provide a hint as to what had changed about the New Orleans Saints. Of course it helps to have the league's most creative coaching tandem in Payton and Williams calling the shots, but nothing has had a more profound effect than the change in the mentality of the New Orleans Saints organization.

As the 2009 season progressed, it was clear that the Saints were on the verge of something special. Week after week, however, pundits and prognosticators ignored common sense and relied on the Saints' demons of the past to provide their pre-game predictions. Time after time they were wrong—dead wrong.

Instead of accepting that what they were seeing was real, NFL analysts consistently picked against the Saints in games that seemed elementary calls to make. New England, for example, hadn't won a road game when they came to the Superdome to face a 10-0 Saints team that had already conquered the rest of the AFC East. We all know the results of that game. How the so-called pros could pick the Patriots was beyond me.

I know I haven't made my point yet but here it goes: There is one simple reason the Saints are poised to return to the Super Bowl. It's the attitude, stupid! Yeah, it may sound simplistic and naive, but I was born into the Who Dat Nation and I know what I'm talking about. Saints history is part of who we are in the Who Dat Nation, and from the tragic to the magic, we've seen it all.

Of course it helps to have Drew Brees at QB, who completed an NFL all-time best 70.6 percent of his passes last season. Reggie Bush is a plus as well as Jonathan Vilma, Jeremy Shockey and Will Smith. But none of them or their teammates would matter if the attitude adjustment hadn't taken effect.

Sean Payton has cultivated a winning attitude that has infiltrated the minds of the entire New Orleans Saints organization as well as the fans. Accepting failure as fate is no longer acceptable. Sean Payton believes that if they are adequately prepared and execute their assignments, they cannot lose.

The addition of Gregg Williams to the fold has proven to be the best quarter million dollars Sean Payton ever spent (and was later reimbursed for). Defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams is aggressive and unapologetic about it. From the moment he arrived he has refused to allow his defense to merely be a practice squad for the NFL's number one offense.

If any game served as the perfect example of what to take from the New Orleans Saints Championship season, it would be week seven at the Miami Dolphins. After being down 21 points, the Saints methodically rallied to beat the Dolphins 46-34. Week seven was my epiphany, and it was clear to me that my Daddy's Saints were now as extinct as Cro-Magnon man. From that fantastic game forward I was willing to bet the farm on the Saints. The evolution was complete.

The coaches, players, trainers, staff, and fans of the New Orleans Saints all seem to know something that the rest of the world is either too slow to comprehend, or too stubborn too accept: The Saints are for real and will be for a long time. So stop feeling sorry for us, empty your 401K, and put your money on the Saints, because there's a new dynasty on the horizon.

See you in the French Quarter!