Twas the night after Christmas, when all through the Dome

All the creatures were stirring up Falcon Gumbo

The banners were hung from the rafters with care

Knowing that St. Breesus would soon be there

We Who Dats were settled all in our seats,

With visions of feasting on dirty bird meat

We’re all in our jerseys, with dome foam in hand

Screaming and dancing to Dixieland bands

When out on the field there rose such a noise

Fans on our feet yelling “Bless you Boys!”

The Who Dat Nation was at fever pitch

As the chosen team captain raised his fist

The Mercedes Benz crest that hung from the ceiling

Gave all that came hither that victorious feeling

When what to my wondering eyes should appear

The dirty birds shaking and quivering in fear

Then a voice came thundering so loud and so clear

We knew that kickoff soon would be near

They blew up the tunnel and lit of the flames

We whistled and shouted and called them by name!

Now Ingram, now Colston, now Thomas and Porter

On Shanle, on Vilma, on Harper and Jordan

Out on the gridiron, with the game on the line

Demolish the Falcons, the playoffs are nigh!

Dressed head to toe in their black and their gold

When the Saints come marching, it’s a sight to behold

Payton and Brees go straight to their work

As Ellis and Smith put “Ice” in the dirt

By air and by ground, the attack is relentless

And nothing can get through Greg Williams’ defenses

The shockwave is felt from the lake to the quarter

We turned Falcon to mince meat in prompt and short order

As the whistles are blown and the game is in hand

Exhausted and joyous are players and fans

The division is sewn up all nice and tight

May all Who Dat faithful sleep peacefully tonight

 ...'an dat's dat!

The Saints have learned how to play from behind, from in front, under adversity, with bad calls, against stacked odds and exalted by personal uplifting tragedy. The 4-1 Saints, on a 4-0 tear, head to Tampa to take on the over-rated, over-achieving Bucs in a battle that will surely show the potential of both sides. The Bucs got handed a spanking in San Francisco last Sunday and the Saints barely got out of Carolina with a win. Both teams are looking to rebound from sub-par performances. Two teams enter…one teams leaves a winner!

Here’s why I think the Saints are a better team than then Bucs;

1)   Veteran quarterback! Come on! Drew Brees is one of the best in the game right now and he is playing some of his best football. He has that “never out of the game” mentality that wins close games and frustrates the hell out of opposing defenses trying to hold on to a lead late in the game. With around 7 minutes left in the game on Sunday against the Panthers, Brees drove the length of the field and scored to take the lead, leaving 50 seconds on the clock. Poised and confident, the thought does not enter his mind that he will NOT succeed!

Couple this with the young, foolish pride of the budding Josh Freeman and the Saints have the upper hand before they smell a blade of Florida grass. 

2)   Defense – Greg Williams…and the emerging Patrick Robinson, healthy Jon Vilma, Tracy Porter and Will Smith and you have yourself a handful. Josh Freeman is good…he’s big…he can throw, but can he out-think Greg Williams? I don’t think so. The Saints should be able to out-coach the Bucs on both sides of the ball, but especially on the defensive side. Our defense has yet to play to it’s potential. I am looking for a big game from them against the Bucs. I think that The Bucs will be trying a little too hard after Sunday SF debacle.

3)   Has anyone talked about our special teams yet? These guys are on fire. The punt coverage has been through the roof. Blocked extra point…ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I don’t want jinx him, but Kasay is looking pretty good for a dinosaur. Love the guy! 53 yards from a 75 year old leg is freakin’ awesome!

4)   The Bucs defense is not what it used to be…or it still is what it used to be…just older. The 49ers made that group look like they were stoned. They might come out trying a little too hard too. Who’s gonna guard Jimmy Graham? Sproles? Meachem? I think that David Thomas will have a big game here because everyone will be keeping their eyes on everyone else…he’s a GREAT tight end…I think this will be his “Welcome to 2011” coming out party!

The Saints are on a Crusade. We’re still pissed about losing to Green Bay. We’re pissed about our performance in Seattle last year. We’re pissed about bad calls costing us touchdowns and we’re pissed about The Superdome being turned into a luxury car advertisement. The Saints and New Orleans are not “luxury”! We stand for good times during bad times (ever heard of a hurricane party?). We stand for cheap beer and red beans, dome foam and nachos, mud-bugs and ersters. We aint luxury….we’re Mississippi mud…we’re swamp and pirots, we’re Fat Tuesday…Fat Monday and FOOTBALL SUNDAY!

An’ Dat’s Dat!