5 Mind-Blowing Facts About The New Orleans Saints
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The New Orleans Saints were born in The Big Easy in 1967. 1967 was an interesting year in history. Penney Lane went to number 1 for the Beatles in March, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in June, and that same month Paul McCartney said on TV that he had taken LSD, which goes a long way to explaining HOW the Beatles came up with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The Saints name derives from the Catholic All Saints Day, also known as Feast of All Saints, which honors all saints, both recognized and unknown. In my house, the word saint simply referred to anyone that could get inside-the-40 tickets to the Ohio State/Michigan game. One year my dad said,”OK, kids, I’ve got 4 tickets for the 41 yard line for the Michigan game. But there’s eight of us in the family, nine including the dog. The first four people that can name all Heisman trophy winners from Ohio State gets the tickets. And go!”
There is also a strong connection between the Saints and the American gospel hymn, “When the Saints Go Marching In,” which goes like this:
Oh, when the saints go marching in
And my fantasy league season is on the line
Lord I pray I don’t lose it all
When my fantasy league season is on the line
For the first two decades of the team, they didn’t do so well. Their was a popular song on the radio in those days called the “When The Saints Gonna Lose Again.”
Oh, when the Saints gonna lose again
Oh, when the Saints gonna lose again
I pretend I live in Dallas, Texas
When the Saints gonna lose again
The Saints lost in their very first game to the Los Angeles Rams in September of 1967. But one of their most dramatic victories happened in 1970. In those days, the goal posts were planted right on the goal line. Hey, that’s not dangerous.
“He’s at the 15, the 10, the 5…Kerrannggg!!!!
The Saints were behind 17-16 with time running out. They decided to chance a field goal from their own 37. “Well, we could have run it, but nobody wanted to run into that damn goalpost anymore,” a player said.
Kicker Tom Dempsey was called to make the attempt. He was an old-school straight-on kicker. None of this soccer-style jibber-jabber. He kicked field goals like he liked his whiskey–straight up like a real man.
“Dempsey lets the kick go, it’s tumbling, tumbling, high, high above Tulane Stadium. And it’s good! The New Orleans Saints have beat the Detroit Lions 19-17 in dramatic fashion as the clock ran out. Tulane Stadium is going insane,” said the play-by-play announcer.
Dempsey’s 63 yard successful attempt would stand as the longest field goal in the NFL record books for the next 28 years. And Dempsey never paid for a straight-up whiskey ever again in New Orleans.
“Don’t worry about it, Tom. It’s on the house,” said a local bartender.
