A Toast for the Saints
On Nov. 1, 1966, New Orleans was awarded the 16th franchise in the National Football League, and the name of the team was never in doubt.
For over 40 years, the New Orleans Saints have been the darlings of a city happy to embrace the color black, alongside our other legendary colors: purple, green and gold. For most of the team’s history, black was appropriate.
It took a national television commentator from Texas, “Dandy” Don Meredith, to note after a particularly galling loss to Oakland right here in the Superdome: “What do you expect from a bunch of guys who’re wearing flowers on their helmets?”
Our expectations have been grand along the way, with heavy doses of both joy and disappointment, to get to where we are today, rooting for a Bush (no, not that one), a McAlister and a Brees. The 2008 New Orleans Saints are out there carrying an entire city’s hopes for victory, taking us all to that big Roman numeral game in Tampa Bay.
Along the way, Saints fans will gather at various social locations around town (read: watering holes) to discuss, dissect, bemoan and cheer the occurrences through 16 weeks of football, from late summer’s heat to the chilly days of the holiday season.
Celebrations will abound and what’s more fitting than a Champagne toast from the Windsor Court Hotel Polo Lounge? Let us raise a toast to the Who Dats, Bless Yous and Earn Its!
The Polo Lounge Martini
3 ounces premium gin or vodka
1 dash Peychaud bitters
1 1/2 ounces Taittinger Brut La Francaise Champagne
Stir well and strain into a martini glass.
Garnish with lemon twist, olive or pearl onions.
