September 2008 (PDF) - Antigravity Magazine

BEST SAINT EVER?
PLUS: SEASON PREDICTIONS AND MORE
by nicholas simmons
Well, it’s finally here. Football season. And with it comes Madden ’09, fantasy football
drafts and the not-so-glamorous stuff like pregame shows that last too long and cruddy
announcing by the truckload. But it’s here, and I can’t be happier. There’s nothing
better than waking up on a Sunday morning to find the weather’s turned cooler before
starting a pot of coffee, slapping on the ol’ Deuce McAllister jersey and heading over to Handsome
Willy’s to lube the brain before a home game. Or kicking it at home with a buffet, friends, an HDTV
with the NFL Sunday Ticket and a laptop with a running stream of live fantasy scores.
This is the third season-opening edition of this column, and as you see it’s moved to a new home of
sorts. This is the first edition of the new ANTIGRAVITY supplement, HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE,
and while this column will stay the same for the most part there will be some changes. Game previews
will be expanded and all on their lonesome—the extra space allows us to add a couple new features,
like “Ex-Saint to watch out for” and “HA’s Madden Season Says,” where we look for ex-Saints on
opponents’ rosters and deem them worry-worthy or not, and detail how this game played out in AG’s
Madden ’09 franchise season. The meat of this column is discussion of Saints-related news and subjects
sometimes related to specific games or sometimes because it just piques my interest.
BOBBY HEBERT—GREATEST SAINT EVER?
ESPN.com recently had a SportsNation poll that asked fans for the best player in each NFL franchise’s
history. Considering the Saints’ poor all-time record (254-367-5) and the number of true New Orleans
players in the Hall of Fame (0, with Jim Finks the lone representative for his role as the Saints best GM
ever), it’s not surprising that the pickings would seem slim to everyone but us hardcore Saints fans. That
said, the selection of Bobby Hebert as the greatest Saint ever absolutely astounded me.
Here are the options ESPN provided, along with their percentage of the vote: Hebert (43.4%), Archie
Manning (23.8%), Willie Roaf (10%), Rickey Jackson (8.4%), Deuce McAllister (5.2%), Sam Mills
(3.8%), Pat Swilling (2.5%), Joe Horn (2.4%), Dalton Hilliard (0.2%), Danny Abramowicz (0.2%).
Total votes: 64, 683.
Rickey Jackson has at least been mentioned for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Willie Roaf will
almost certainly be selected when he becomes eligible in 2010 (whether he goes in as a Saint remains to
be seen after the nasty feud that ended with him being traded to Kansas City in 2002). Now, having Hall
of Fame credentials doesn’t necessarily make you the best player ever, but clearly Saints fans went in a
nostalgic direction with this pick, and that makes it even more curious. Sure, Hebert is from around here
and fans maybe gave him the hometown nod, but if you’re really going to go the nostalgic route why
not vote for Archie Manning? Manning owns Saints records for yardage (21,734), completions (1,849),
attempts (3,335) and, yes, interceptions (156), besides owning all the beatings opposing defenses gave him
and essentially becoming an ambassador to the media for both the city of New Orleans and the Saints.
Meanwhile, in Hebert’s eight years with the Saints he threw for just 25 more TDs (85) than Jim
Everett did in three years (60). Hebert trails Manning in yardage by 7,104, played 56 fewer games than
Archie and won fewer playoff games with the Saints than Aaron Brooks. At this point, if you were
going to take Hebert over any of the other candidates for hometown favor, why not go all the way and
just write in John Fourcade?
Hebert was an integral part of those dominant Saints teams from ’87 to ’92, but the fact remains that
those teams were built on defense and you can’t overlook him bolting for the Atlanta Falcons. If you
can stomach Hebert being the best Saint ever while knowing he mocked you by running around with
his arms out and pretending to be a falcon after scoring a TD during a playoff game in the Superdome,
you’re a better person (but worse fan), than I.
I know Saints fans are a vocal bunch, but the sheer number of votes cast (64,683) confused me a bit.
Here’s a look at the winners from the rest of the NFC South and the number of votes cast for each team:
Tampa Bay (Derrick Brooks), 41, 889; Atlanta (Deion Sanders); 37, 980. Carolina (Steve Smith),
33, 099. And from the teams who competed in last season’s Super Bowl: New England (Tom Brady),
64,444. New York Giants (Lawrence Taylor), 51, 989.
So Saints voters outnumbered both Super Bowl teams (one by almost 13,000) and voted for the least
likely candidate? I don’t often listen to Hebert’s radio show on WWL 870am, so I’m curious if this vote
ever came up on the air because that may be the best explanation. If you have any info, feel free to drop
me an e-mail at simmons@ antigravitymagazine.com.
JASON DAVID REVISITED
Yes, I’m on record as stating that 2008 would be a bounce back year for cornerback Jason David.
If the football gods were
to mold the perfect
superfan out of Mardi
Gras beads, daiquiris
and pure love for the New
Orleans Saints, they’d
produce Supa Saint. The
golden mustached one played
the piano to release his pain
after the Saints lost the NFC
Championship game in 2006,
celebrated the opening of
football season by walking
around New Orleans with a
40oz and a boombox blasting
Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “Paradise
City” and recently appeared
in a WDSU Channel 6 TV
commercial with the Hornets’
mascot, Hugo.
With the 2008 season
upon us, HOMEFIELD
ADVANTAGE thought it’d
be good luck to see how Supa
Saint prepared for this season,
so we met him at a pool on the
roof of a Julia St. building to
talk about his favorite Saints
offseason moves, Jason David
and 190 Octane.
Continued on Page 21... Continued on Page 20...
LOOK, UP IN THE SKY!
IT’S A BLOODY MARY!
IT’S A FLEUR DE LIS!
IT’S SUPA SAINT!
THIS GOLDEN-HAIRED SUPERFAN BRINGS
HIGH OCTANE PARTYING TO SECTION 330
by leo mcgovern
Homefield Advantage: What’s Supa Saint been up to since the end of 2007?
Supa Saint: I like to come up here on Friday afternoons, kick back with my 190 Octane.
Watch the sun set over the Superdome. I don’t live here, I just hop the fence, but I don’t
think they mind. I’ve been living on the side of the Superdome, they have a fence that goes
around the dumpster area and I’ve made my Supa Saint headquarters there. I’ve been living
there since the last game of last season, making ends meet by eating the leftover hot dogs
and nachos and waiting for the new season.
HA: What’s your favorite off-season move the Saints have made?
SS: I like Charlotte, a new Saintsation. She’s got some good measurables, good athleticism,
agility, flexibility, really good body type. As far as new players, I like the Jeremy Shockey
and Jonathan Vilma moves equally. Vilma might get a slight nod.
HA: ESPN recently had a SportsNation poll that asked fans to name their team’s best
ever player. Saints fans picked Bobby Hebert as the best player in Saints history. What
do you think about that?
SS: I like Bobby. Look, Bobby and I go way back. We go fishing on Sundays, he watches
my kids while I’m out of town—he’s a good kid. I’ve got to say Drew Brees is already the
best player in our history, though. He’s my boy.
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