It’s Pronounced ‘Who Is That’ Week 7: I Bet You Enjoyed That

So, Saints fans, I bet Sunday night was pretty fun for you–as well it should have been. That was an absurdly impressive win. With Sean Payton in a booth, the Saints were as perfect as you could expect in an NFL game.

As a Colts fan, I started the week thinking that my team could get their first win of the season. On Thursday reality sunk in. There was no way the Colts would win, I thought. Friday, an opportunity to go to the game came up. I thought about not going, but quickly realized I would be stupid if I didn’t head down to the Dome. I knew it would be a blowout. I just didn’t think would be that bad. And for the record, I did stay for the entire game (I don’t think Chris is ever going to let me forget this). Thoughts from the game and pictures from my camera after the jump. Let’s do this…

The Saints looked amazing but let’s not forget against they played against the winless Colts. Don Banks in his weekly NFL power rankings for SI.com has a great quote about a blowout victory like this:

Champions Square

I’ve always thought the best teams realize you need to forget about a blowout win as quickly as you do a blowout loss, because they’re both dangerous in their own way if they linger. The Saints simply aren’t as good as they looked in hanging up 62 points against the cratering Colts Sunday night in the Superdome, so there’s no benefit to believing a game like that offers a true measure of your team. Things won’t go that well but maybe once a decade, so you just chalk it up, and refuse to buy the hype of your own making.

I’m not trying to downplay the Saints’ victory (I’m going to have some stats for you in a bit that hammer home just how impressive it was) but this is important. Remember all that occurred after the Super Bowl win? All the celebration and parades (which were deserved and fun)? Many NFL talking heads thought that would lead to an extended Super Bowl hangover. Now the Saints have to worry about that mid-season. However, I don’t see this going the Saints’ heads. The closest thing I’ve seen is Drew Brees saying,

This is the NFL. It doesn’t matter what your record is or what the circumstances are. We’re all professionals here. That just happened to be a game where, for whatever reason, everything was going our way…”

It doesn’t sound like his ego is inflated. In this age of insane self promotion (hello, Terrell Owens), you’ve got to love his humility. Payton certainly has this team coached well.

As you can see in the pictures above and below, the tailgating at the Dome is fantastic. I hadn’t been to a game since Champions Square was built and I was completely blown away by the atmosphere. Everyone is walking around talking and yelling ‘Who Dat’ while music plays in the background. As we walked away from Champions Square and started to circle the Dome, we found another stage. The band was playing a song called “Do It In The Butt.” I’m guessing this only happens in New Orleans.

I was very curious to see how Mercedes-Benz would be represented in the first home game since the new sponsorship deal was announced. And yup, the car maker was a very prevalent throughout the stadium. But at least it’s a classy sponsor.

Side Fantasy Football Note: I was desperately in need of a win this week. My team was currently 2-4 and another loss would pretty much bury me this season. Going into the Sunday night game I needed 16 points to win. My opponent was out of players while I still had Marcus Colston and John Kasey. My friend found this very ironic that I needed two Saints players to get me my fantasy win. I got those 16 points in the first quarter of the game.

So, Saints fans, do you want some more confirmation of how dominant your team was Sunday night? Here are some stats courtesy of Mason at Hoopdat.org. The Saints were up 28-0 before the offense faced a third down. The Colts turned the ball over on their first two drives so the Saints weren’t facing a long field, but still, that is remarkably impressive.

The Saints were so efficient that they had their first non-scoring drive until late in the fourth quarter. Think about that again. Every drive the Saints had for almost the entire game scored points. Wow.

As for the Saints fans I met, all of you were awesome. Everyone I talked to was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. Unlike my friend who kept laughing at me the whole night. Regardless, it was fun and despite the end result, I had a great time. Here are some of the other pictures I took. Also, let us know your gameday experiences in the comments below!