This piece appears in the July 12, 2010 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
Five years ago, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saints ranked last in our Ultimate Standings. Today they're No. 1. How'd that happen? Commitment to community, championship play and cheap prices. We chatted with Saints Nation.
November 2005
What would you say to fans who think the Saints are leaving town for good?
Eighty percent of companies in New Orleans have not been able to reopen, but we are keeping this company in business. We relocated to San Antonio so we can stay afloat. We remain a Louisiana corporation, and we're paying $25 million into the state income tax fund this year. All anybody wants to do is criticize [owner] Mr. [Tom] Benson, but they're barking up the wrong tree. -- Greg Bensel, team spokesman
How close did the team come to moving?
The rest of the world thought we were down and weren't coming back. We had to relocate in 2005. Our practice facility was occupied by the military during that time. Publicly, everybody was talking about that. But we -- ourselves and our staff -- wanted to come back. We just had to find a way. And that's what we did. -- Tom Benson, owner
Our standings rank all MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL teams by how they repay fans for the time, money and emotion they invest in them. The results show that fans feel a strong connection to the Saints. What accounts for that?
The bond we have with our fans, and the support we get from them, were created post-Katrina, with the struggles and hardships we all went through helping to rebuild this city. We really leaned on each other in that time, and I think it culminated in the reopening of the Superdome on Sept. 25, 2006. That symbolized the fact that New Orleans was not only going to come back, but come back stronger than ever. When we thought about winning the Super Bowl, we wanted to win it for our fans. -- Drew Brees, quarterback
You always see the players in our community, especially Drew Brees. You can drive by his house and honk, and if he's working on the yard or something, he'll wave back. -- Jeff Larsen, fan
Methodology
Want to know how we came up with the Ultimate Standings? Take a deeper look here.
We have a good website, but not a big social media presence. When players leave practice or games, they're visible, and news spreads person to person and by word of mouth. The Saints are what people talk about with their neighbors. It's neat to see. -- Doug Miller, director of new media
We explicitly look for people with a certain energy level. That's one reason we hired Sean Payton. We look for tough-mindedness and intelligence, and people who see a glass as half full. We have to have players and staff who do more than football, who relish the chance to make a difference in New Orleans. -- Mickey Loomis, GM
Fans love Sean Payton. Does the Saints' aggressive play help keep the team close to fans?
I think so. On offense we attack, and on defense [defensive coordinator] Gregg Williams is blitzing every other down. I think it brings more excitement to the game. -- Pete Carmichael, offensive coordinator
The Superdome has some wear and tear on it, but does it have a different vibe from other venues?
There's energy in the building; even when you come out for warmups in the early part of the day, you can feel the electricity. Then you come back out for the start of the game and you can really feel something in the air. -- Carmichael
You go to some other stadiums and you hear fans kind of going up and down, but here it's loud the entire game. Maybe that has something to do with the hard alcohol they serve at the stadium. Or all the crazy costumes you see. Like Whistle Monster -- he has a huge whistle on his head. -- Ryan Pace, director of pro scouting
So coaches on the field, no matter what they say, notice what goes on in the stands.
There's a guy who dresses like a Saints robot, and he dances during timeouts. He's phenomenal. You can't help but notice. You're still taking care of business, but there are always those five or 10 seconds when there's a little lull, and you're like, "Wow, did you see that?" -- Scottie Patton, head athletic trainer
How did the "Who Dat?" chant start?
I think it was something that came out of the court system in the 1800s. I'm not exactly sure. But we didn't steal it from Cincinnati, that's for sure. They're "Who Dey?" We're "Who Dat?" -- Michael Prestenback, fan
[Ed.'s note to Mr. Prestenback: "Who Dat?" originated in a song written by poet Paul Laurence Dunbar in 1898 that was part of a minstrel show.]
And we're allowed to drink walking down the street. They can't tailgate like we can down here. -- Scott VanderMeer, fan
Following all those years of the Aints, of Black Mondays nearly every week, what was it like when the Saints won the Super Bowl?
It was families, friends, the older generation who had been waiting their whole lives for this, and it was nuts. We hit the [French] Quarter, Bourbon Street, and tore it up. It was Mardi Gras times 1,000. It was just love, everybody embracing each other. I think it might have stopped. I'm not really sure. -- Larsen
After the Super Bowl I had so much stuff left in front of my house: wine bottles, beer, signs, cards, flowers, you name it. Just people showing their appreciation. You could tell how much it meant to them. -- Brees
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