R-E-S-P-E-C-T

It's an inevitable thing that we all want. You can't buy it. You can't steal it. Or be handed some of it. It's got to be earned. RESPECT.

We fight for it everyday. You know in some parts of the world it becomes an infatuated dream of many of men. The thing that we all learn is that no matter what people think or excuses made it is something that has to be hard-earned.

Just the other day my Boston friend and I were talking about our beloved Red Sox and how beleagured they looked this season. The conversation suddenly went into football and we started talking about his Patriots and my Saints. That's when the conversation took a dramatic turn. Everything I said about his team was out of respect because they have won consecutive SuperBowls in addition to compiling several winning seasons in a row. When he started talking about my Saints he asked very skeptical questions about how our defense was holding up against the run? I on the other hand understood where he was coming from. My team hasn't won anything special since 2000. We've been a team known to be streaky from season to season, not too mention quarter to quarter.

That's were I found myself this past weekend. Watching the game from home on my couch with my "Be a Saint" shirt, and my dog wearing his Ricky Williams jersey. The game was so uplifting the first two quarters. It seemed as if the stars were aligning for a huge upset, but then the 3rd quarter came and the Eagles started scoring. I became trepid and nervous. I cursed out loud the Richard Todds and Jubilee Dunbar of the Saints world. I looked over at my wife, who was sitting behind me watching from the kitchen table as she read a book, and it hit me. Stop disrespecting the Saints. Start believing. I muttered something under my breath about putting together a drive to tie this game up. Just then the heavens broke free, the angels rejoiced, and Joe Horn made a double move to free himself for the game tying touchdown. I smiled. All we need is a stop of defense. Wouldn't you know it the Eagles would use one of their timeouts that would play pivotal part to us winning in their final drive that resulted in a punt. It's as if the team, the city, it's fans everywhere knew that the Saints were going to pull this out. As the final ticks of the game faded into the distance with Carney's game winning field goal. I looked down at my shirt once again. "BE A SAINT." Earning the respect of fans everywhere is going to take time. More importantly I believe it will come soon enough.