Sports icon speaks at panel

On Sept. 7, a priest, a former punt returner and two members of the local media gathered in Roussel Hall to discuss the impact of the New Orleans Saints on the city.

The Fleur Delirious panel was made up of former Saints kick-returner Michael "Beer Man" Lewis, Saints commentator Jim Henderson, Times-Picayune columnist Jeff Duncan and the Rev. James Carter S.J., who has preformed the service for Saints players in the past. The discussion was led by mass communication professor and avid Saints fan, Lisa Martin.

Before any member of the panel could speak on the impact the Saints had on the community, the four panelists and audience members were shown a video-highlight package of some of the most memorable moments in Saints history with longtime voice of the Saints Jim Henderson providing the commentary. "I came here to cover them in 1978 and I became the play-by-play voice of the Saints in 1986," Henderson said.

Since Henderson has been around the organization since the late 70s, he has seen the various ups and downs of the franchise. "They had some people in the locker room who were not team players," he said when talking about the Saints before Sean Payton, current head coach, took the job. "He weeded those guys out; guys that were selfish that wouldn't buy into the program, so that's how it's changed, primarily."

Duncan also praised the work Payton has done since taking the job. Duncan recalled a story from the first game after the Superdome, when Payton showed the team footage of the devastation Katrina caused. "They were a very new team," he said. "And for Payton to recognize that early on that this game meant more to New Orleanians than just a regular football game and show that footage was very insightful on his part."

Aside from building up morale of the city, Duncan also talked about the economic impact the Saints have on the city in an interview days before the panel. "When the Vikings come in here it'll be on national TV and everything that goes along with that will bring a lot of tax dollars to the city so in some ways its like having a Fortune 500 company here," Duncan said.

Duncan also said that though the relationship had changed between the Saints and the city after Katrina, the support from the fans was always there. Duncan went on to say that after the storm it was just as important to bring the Saints back as anything else that makes the city unique. "Anything that was an old vestige of New Orleans pre-Katrina that was part of the fabric of the culture that they wanted to survive, they grabbed on to it."

One member of the panel who knows firsthand how important the Saints are to New Orleans, is Lewis. Lewis grew up in the New Orleans area as a Saints fan and drove a beer delivery truck while playing arena football in Baton Rouge, La. Lewis said that after getting hurt on the job, he decided to change career paths. Since carrying kegs proved hazardous to his health, Lewis decided to look for a job playing professional football for the Saints. Though Lewis has since retired and taken a front-office job with the Saints organization, he is still willing to take one for the team.

During the question and answer period, an audience member asked about Drew Brees being affected by the Madden curse. It has been highly publicized that players featured on the cover of the Madden video game generally suffer a serious injury during the following season. Lewis responded by saying, "If that's how they feel about it you can put me on the cover. I don't play anymore. I'll take the bumps and bruises for him."

Though it was the decision of the Saints front-office and the NFL to keep the franchise, all four panelists agreed that it was the passion of the fans that made it possible for the Saints to return to New Orleans.

When the decision to return was still being questioned after moves towards San Antonio and Los Angeles had been seriously considered, Lewis said he felt the strong presence of the fans when the Superdome reopened Monday night against the Falcons. "I'm standing on the sidelines and they called the New Orleans Saints and the whole team ran out the fans stood up and I could feel the concrete vibrating. And tears ran down my eyes because we came back and the fans were still there," Lewis said.

Hasani Grayson can be reached at hkgrayso@loyno.edu