Why I'm rooting for the Saints

I was on the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina.

As a sportswriter living in Mobile, Ala., we knew it was going to be a bad one. Downtown Mobile flooded and the land near Dauphin Island fell completely underwater. My partner in crime on the Baldwin Register sports desk lost his home and more than four years later is still battling the fallout. I had bunkered down at a friend's apartment in Foley, about 10 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. It didn't rain where I was, but we still had 100mph winds and lost power for over 24 hours. We didn't even know New Orleans had flooded until it was almost over.

Mobile is about two hours east of New Orleans, and I spent many a night in the Crescent City. We went there for whatever reason we could find--Halloween, New Year's Eve, Mardi Gras, birthday parties, concerts, and simply because it was a fun thing to do on a Friday night. I absolutely fell in love with the city. After the storm, a lot of my friends went to New Orleans to cover the damage for our newspaper. I first went back for the New Year's Eve immediately following Katrina. It was the least we could do to support the city. We just wanted to play our part.

On Sept. 25, 2006, I attended the Saints-Falcons game on Monday Night Football, which was the team's first game back in the Louisiana Superdome since the storm. Without question, there was something special in the air that night and it had nothing to do with football. This was a city's renaissance, the day it announced, "We're still here!" to the rest of the world. I've never seen so many football fans hugging and high-fiving and crying all together. It was a magical night in every way. Early in the first quarter, when the Saints blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, the Superdome went bonkers. I cried a little, too. How the hell could I not?

Following the Saints' 23-3 victory, about half of the 70,000-plus fans in attendance high-stepped it over to Bourbon Street for one of the most joyous post-game celebrations known to man. Again, this had nothing to do with football. This was a city's rebirth. It was an amazing night and one of the best sports experiences I will ever enjoy. The pre-game performance by U2 and Green Day was memorable, too, and a video I made of the Saints' intro has been viewed 12,704 times on YouTube. The Seahawks are my favorite team, but I'll always have room for the Saints.

Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dem gonna beat dem Saints?!

-- Derek Belt