In all honesty, after getting your teeth kicked in the way the Saints just did in primetime, there really isn’t a player of the game. It is worth noting that Chris Olave played great again, but that’s not worth much when the team gets embarrassed the way it just did.
The true MVPs of this game, however, were the fans.
Shoutout to the entire city of New Orleans, which was on 10 from the moment the sun came up. New Orleans was ready and excited for what this game represented: the 20-year celebration
of the reopening of the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.
The atmosphere inside the Dome at kickoff was electric. I spoke with former Saints wide receiver Lance Moore after the game, and he said the Dome felt like the Dome again. And that is exactly what it should be.
The fans were ready to roll. The excitement was there, and every single one of you, whether you were at home, at work, or at the stadium, just wanted that moment to shout, “Who Dat!”
The Saints did a great job of having Steve Gleason lead the Who Dat chant at the start of the game, with his son by his side raising his hand. The emotions were nearly overwhelming as a fan, seeing all of the pageantry that went into this game. The former players from 20 years ago were present on the sideline for kickoff. It was beautiful to see.
And then the game started.
All of that went away because, for the next three hours, the play on the field did not match the expectations and hope that Saints fans had going into the night.
Who Dat Nation, you all are this week’s Canal Street Chronicles MVP.
