A new breed of dirty bird
Win or lose, I read just about every Saints-related article on Nola.com or ESPN.com, and will continue to do so until kickoff on Saturday night at 7:10 PM in Philadelphia.
The Saints allowed the NFC South division to slip away after starting 5-0, losing the division title and second seed in the playoffs to the Carolina Panthers. But, hey, the Saints are back in the playoffs and like all Who Dat Faithful, I like our chances – home or away.
The comments section, particularly on Nola.com, has a different feel to it than during weeks in the regular season. The regular posters are present and accounted for, lending their thoughts, concerns, and hopes for the Who Dat Nation. However, this week there is a new breed of posters dotting the comment landscape: Eagles fans.
It’s easy to hate birds in New Orleans. After all, our biggest rival is the Atlanta Falcons – the Dirty Birds. Our recent nemesis the Seattle Seahawks are also of the winged variety and now, this week, our beloved black and gold face the Philadelphia Eagles.
So, back to the aforementioned Eagles fans polluting Saints sites. It seems the “City of Brotherly Love” is anything but.
Our loving brothers from the Northeast have used a plethora of degrading references, everything from “fudge stain” to refer to the birthmark on Drew Brees’ face, to our “backwards Cajun” culture, to the horrific disaster that was Hurricane Katrina. Some Eagles fans venturing online are spewing some serious vitriol, and seem to think our Saints have no chance against the Eagles.
I have actually never visited an opponent’s local website to do any scouting or talk trash to their fans, so I’m not familiar with this practice. I must note, however, that the Saints fans have deflected the Philly nonsense mostly with ease and humor. As I continue to read through the posts, I sense not confidence in their trash talking, but fear.
Come Saturday night, only one team will move on. That is what terrifies these Eagles fans. You can smell it in their comments. The Saints are heading north with a grudge. Get ready Eagles fans, because Saturday night the New Orleans Saints are coming to town.
And we will see who has the last word.
Who Dat!
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