‘The Moment’ could lead to greatest ever

Published 12:00 am Sunday, January 31, 2010

The video is called “The Moment,” produced by the Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans.

It begins in a watering hole somewhere in the French Quarter. The place is packed elbow to elbow, seemingly everyone holding a cup of some New Orleans concoction certainly to lead to a rough next morning.

No one in that bar, though, was thinking of the next day, only this day — a chilly January night in a town where it appeared New Orleans was a drinking town with a football problem. No problems on this night, though, as Garrett Hartley’s kick sailed true through the uprights sending the franchise with 103 more losses than victories to the Super Bowl.

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Sean P. Murphy is Web editor. He can be reached at smurphy@vicksburgpost.com

Some screamed. Others raised their arms in exultation. Then they rushed through the front doors and onto Bourbon Street.

It seemed as if every bar on Bourbon emptied at the exact same time. Balconies were filled. Men and women, black and white, rich and poor embraced under the “Who Dat?” banner of brotherhood. Somehow a brass band appeared and the throngs piled together a la Mardi Gras began the parade.

“Who Dat? Who Dat? Who Dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?” resonated with the blaring tuba and trombones in the background. It looked as if the Saints had just won the Super Bowl, not just made it there. One must remember, though, the history of the franchise.

The nine winning seasons equal the years where the Saints won three or fewer games.

Until this year’s run — playoff victories over the Arizona Cardinals and then the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings —  the Saints had won two playoff games since 1967.

The team went 13 years before its first 8-8 record and four more before the first winning season.

Thirty out of 43 seasons the Saints have been outscored by their opponents.

As horrific a past as the Saints have had, part of that frustration was washed away with the makeshift brass band down Bourbon.

One game remains before the impossible — winning the Super Bowl over the son of the most beloved Saint of all time, Archie Manning.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is as good as they get. He picks apart defenses with precision. To beat Peyton and the Colts, the Saints have to be at their best.

If the Saints are at their best, get those instruments ready, the next party will be the biggest of ’em all.