New Orleans Saints Tickets For Sale
| New Orleans Saints The Saints were created as an expansion franchise and officially placed in the city of New Orleans in the winter of 1966. The team called nearby Tulane Stadium home for the first eight years of their existence. Sharing the field with the Tulane Green Wave football team proved to be schematically problematic and psychologically testing, and the team struggled to a 30-77-5 during their University era. In 1975, the Louisiana Superdome was completed and opened, in many ways marking the official beginning of the team’s tenure in the great city of New Orleans. Unfortunately, the Saints were shutout 21-0 by the Cincinnati Bengals in the week one home opener, went onto compile a 2-12 record, and didn’t break the .500 mark until 13 years later. The late 1980s were a time when the passionate citizens of New Orleans finally showed an allegiance to their hometown team, as coach Jim Mora brought a moxie and finesse to the team that matched the aura of the city perfectly. Quarterback Bobby Hebert led the gutty and resilient team to a 12-4 record in 1987, where they tasted the sweet sugars of the postseason for the first time in franchise history. The Minnesota Vikings dominated the Saints in their first postseason appearance, but the wily bunch would again return to the NFL after-party in 1990, ’91 and ’92. The pround and deserving franchise was mired in mediocrity for the remainder of the ‘90s. The Saints were able to convince legendary head coach Mike Ditka to lead the squad beginning in 1997, but what was initially seen as a sure-fire solution turned out to be another frustrating situation, and Ditka was relieved of his duties after three years. During his time, he essentially mortgaged the future of the franchise for the rights to draft Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, whose productivity turned out to be inconsistent and short-lived. Head coach Jim Haslett kept the Saints highly competitive with the help of versatile quarterback Aaron Brooks for five seasons until the bottom fell out in 2005. After the team finished with a 3-13 record, majority owner Tom Benson cleaned house. The results were a young and vivacious new coach, a gregarious and talented quarterback and a completely rejuvenated fanbase. Sean Peyton arrived in New Orleans with a swagger and a penchant for winning. The former Dallas Cowboys defensive genius soon had the team living up to its potential, as they reached the playoffs in Peyton’s first year in 2006. The year was a highly-emotional roller coaster that unfolded in that wake of Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest and most catastrophic natural occurrences in American history. Over the course of the 2006 season, the team picked up a confidence and the city was once again filled with hope and pride. Quarterback Drew Brees had all the right moves on and off the field, and the city of New Orleans was finally rewarded for its passion, patience and persistency in 2009. Brees led the squad through a dominant regular season that culminated with the franchise's first trip to the Super Bowl. A hard-fought struggle with Peyton Manning and the Colts pivoted in the Saints favor when Tracy Porter intercepted a 4th quarter pass and returned it for a touchdown, setting off a celebration that lasted for months. |