How many folks recall 49er dominance back in the NFC West days? From 1980-1998 San Francisco compiled a 28-9 record against the Saints. Countless times throughout that era either Joe Montana or Steve Young ripped out the hearts of Saints fans with their poised 11th hour heroics, winning those crucial division battles when the Saints seemingly outplayed them every time. Even though the Saints played less than their best Monday night, Garrett Hartley’s buzzer-beating, partially blocked flutter-ball kick sailed through the uprights aided by strong Candlestick Park winds, as the reigning World Champs crushed Bay Area residents’ hopes of a much needed National TV win. Isn’t payback a bitch? Big Daddy will never forget how bitter losses to the hated 49ers made work the next day impossible to deal with; however, Tuesday morning at the rock pile felt like a picnic in the Garden of Eden. The only thing missing was Eve serving chilled apples for desert. In this week’s edition of the Section 645 Saints Beat, Big Daddy celebrates 175 years of the St. Charles streetcar, reports live from the Kingpin, recaps the San Francisco game, makes his Super bowl prediction, and releases his World Famous Pregame Information.
Service on Earth’s longest continuously running streetcar line started transporting customers on Sept. 26 1835, marking a tangible point signifying a moment where the Big Easy set itself apart from the rest. St. Charles was not the cities first public transit line—that distinction goes to the Poydras-Magazine trolley which began rolling in the first week of January, 1835. One week later the Jackson Avenue car hit the tracks. Streetcars provided grocery and pharmacy deliveries to patrons along the route for a small conductor gratuity. Our transit system always prohibited eating, but allowed customers to haul all live fresh caught seafood, except for crayfish due to the Health Department fears of a viral outbreak. Who remembers “Riders Digest?” N.O.P.S.I.’s (New Orleans Public Service Incorporated) free pamphlet that informed riders of upcoming local events and offered Billie Carpenter’s recipes. Carpenter developed and documented her mouth-watering concoctions in the top floor kitchen of the old NOPSI building located at 317 Barrone Street. At one time the Crescent City operated 30 separate streetcar lines to get locals anywhere they needed to go. Long before Gordon Gekko professed the immortal words: “Greed is Good” in Oliver Stone’s 1987 silver screen classic “Wall Street,” The big three American auto makers plot to retire obsolete trolleys with modern diesel burning bus replacements hit its stride in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Brilliant “negotiating” tactics convinced city officials everywhere to convert. Thank goodness Moron missionaries aren’t as persuasive. Boy, great decisions that benefit both the environment and the masses rival the pure genius of the Tea Party movement.
Wednesday Haydel’s Bakery saw five months of planning come to fruition, when their giant king cake came to life circling the Louisiana Superdome twice on the Plaza level walkway. The cake served two purposes: One to break the current Guinness Book record for weight, which was a 3,007 pound entry from Houston, and to raise money for breast cancer research. Festivities got rockin’ around noon time, pleasing thousands of people who showed up to not only witness the momentous even, but just like Big Daddy, they wanted a big slice of cake. The 4 ton cake required 4,000 pounds of Danish flour, 286 pounds of yeast, 428 dozen eggs, 299 pounds of cinnamon sugar, and 331 pounds of Black ’n’ Gold sprinkles. If only former recovery Czar Ed Blakely could follow through like that, maybe giant cranes would augment our skyline.
Diehard Kingpin regulars filled Big Daddy’s favorite watering hole once again as the Saints suited up for a Monday night grid iron battle. Tamme and Rebecca became personal trainers to all the attending Saints fans, ensuring that everyone maintained proper form doing their 12 oz curls with ice cold longnecks. Boucherie chef Dave Phillips defined “A game” with his delicious beer batter Grouper and grilled pork bellies. Martinique chefs Eric LaBouchere and Nat Carrier whipped a huge batch of a black-eyed peas. Wow, what a combination! The amazing spread kept the Pin’s loyal patrons energy levels above unsustainable readings throughout the arduous fight the Saints encountered. Halftime’s cool corner meeting inspired Big Daddy’s posse to focus, second half pummel roars had ears ringing like an AC/DC show. There’s no doubt that our beloved Saints players gained strength from the constant emotional outbursts from the legendary Lyons Street locale. Totally Awesome!
The 49er game recap begins when San Francisco’s backup center David Bass snapped the ball over quarterback Alex Smith’s resulting in a safety three plays into the game. Already leading 2-0, the Saints started their first offensive drive at San Fran’s 46 thanks to Pro Bowl punter Andy Lee’s shanked free kick. Seven plays later Drew Brees’ 5-yard toss to Reggie Bush made it 9-0 after one. Alex Smith’s 12-yard touchdown pass to running back Frank Gore capped the 12 play possession, narrowing the gap to 9-7 Saints. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma stripped 49er tight end Delanie Walker deep in Saints territory, safety Malcolm Jenkins recovered the fumble, which preserved the Saints 9-7 halftime advantage. Former Mississippi State standout now 49er rookie tailback Anthony Dixon’s 2-yard TD run put San Francisco on top 14-9. Brees threw his second scoring pass of the night to Pierre Thomas, surging the Saints back in front 16-14 heading to the fourth. Garrett Hartley’s 46-yard field goal increased the margin to 19-14 with 13:31 to go in regulation. Thomas Morstead’s beautiful 42-yard angled punt rattled reserve rookie returner Phillip Adams into a muff that somehow bounced away from the boundary, allowing special teams hero Courtney Roby to pounce on the loose ball on SF’s 14. Unable to stick the ball in the end zone, Hartley’s 19-yarder stretched the Saints cushion to 22-14 with 2:12 remaining. Prevent defense yielded an 82-yard drive in only 53 seconds. Gore’s 7-yard touchdown run, plus Smith’s 2-point conversion pass to Vernon Davis (initially ruled no good on the field, booth replay correctly reversed the improper call) tied the affair 22-22 with 1:19 on game clock. Brees displayed ice water in his veins as he engineered a seven play 51-yard march to set up Hartley’s 37-yard game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, as the Saints escaped from Alcatraz less gracefully than Clint Eastwood did, but they came away with a very ugly 25-22 victory.
Big Daddy knows the NFL season’s length administers a thorough examination to any team contending for the Lombardi trophy. Sometimes teams peak too early, creating room for others to get hot down the stretch. Last season the Saints and Vikings dominated the NFC, while Indianapolis was a cut above in the AFC. This year surprises abound: Tampa Bay, Chicago, Miami, and Kansas City are 2-0, super computers couldn’t calculate those odds. Though they’ve had a great start don’t expect that fantastic four to go far. Green Bay and New Orleans should reach the NFC Championship. Pittsburgh and Indianapolis will face-off for the AFC crown. Home field decides whom will advance. Right now the Big Daddy is leaning towards Green bay and Pittsburgh, league wide parody means its far too early to tell for sure. Saints Beat will revisit this topic at the season’s midway point.
Check out next week’s installment of the Section 645 Saints Beat when Big Daddy recaps the Atlanta game, rides the St. Charles streetcar downtown, reports live from Section 645, delivers a Kingpin update, and discusses the 2010 Saints strengths and weaknesses. If you are a new member of the Who Dat Nation, and the New Orleans ladies treat you like a loser, don’t give in to the double pits to chesty temptation with Axe, just log on to: www.NOSaints History.com, and the cougars will notice right away who the coolest dude in the room is. Now Big daddy releases his World Famous Pregame Information: — Take the Saints minus 3 —
