Thoughts from the Saints game last night:
- I've been to sporting events with a better sports atmosphere (not many, mind you), but i've never been to one with such an overall feeling of excitement, i guess it would be what i'd call the "atmosphere atmosphere." definitely goose-bump inducing at times.
- When the Saints blocked the field goal, the upper deck started moving. I mean literally swaying back and forth. It was pretty cool, but maybe more scary/creepy than anything.
- Haven't listened to a lot of Green Day stuff since high school/early college, but i can think of several songs that would have been better to play than what they played last night. It's called "When September Ends," i think. sort of slow and repetitive and not really the sort of thing to get people fired up.
- Have never listened to much U2 at all, as i have previously noted here. But if their full-length concerts are anything like the song and a half they played last night, i could definitely see myself becoming a fan. Don't know when i'd actually get a chance to see them in concert, but if the opportunity ever presents itself, i'm definitely going for it.
- I couldn't catch exactly what he saying, but during the 45-seconds of "Beautiful Day" U2 played, Bono changed the lyrics to refer to new orleans.
- I'm now allowed to behave any way i want in public. courtney was constantly laughing at the guy sitting in front of us, and he was doing things that i know for a fact would get her mad if i were doing them. so now i have proof that she enjoys outlandish public behavior. hooray me.
6 comments:
I could hardly hold my camera still after that blocked punt. I'll give that noise level a tie for first with Arrowhead when Dante Hall Returned his 4th punt for a TD in as many games. (it was against Denver and was the game winning score)
"When September Ends" has some Katrina relevance, which is probably why they chose it.
From Wikipedia:
The song eventually became a tribute song to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and sound bytes were added from various news coverages to the song. A live version of the song, recorded on September 3, 2005 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts was released soon after and dedicated to the hurricane's victims.
If you look at the lyrics, they fit some -- not perfectly, but some -- including "Here comes the rain again."
You and Ryan are both right. "When September Ends" was indeed dedicated to Katrina victims. However, it doesn't really get people fired up and ready for a football game.
It was almost painful to have to listen to the TV broadcast of the game. Three things they kept mentioning (to the point that I wanted to burst my eardrums): 1) Katrina most of NO and ripped the Super Dome to shreds; 2) the people of NO needs tourism money, so everyone should come visit--the food is still awesome; and 3) Colston was one of the last picks of the draft (they said this every time he went on the field, I swear. It was exceptionally irritating.).
I was completely excited over the win. I hate the Falcons even more than the Cowboys (which someone told me is a shocking thing to say). And I'm not a Vick fan at all, so to see him sitting on the sidelines looking stupid and useless was awesome. To see the Saints D actually be effective was even more awesome. I felt really glad to be a lifetime Saints fan Monday night. And really bad for thinking they would be destroyed by the Falcons.
Go Saints!
The thing I got most tired of hearing about was Theismann bitching about the turf.
1. He said the turf would not be fully ready for another year. This is the third season they've used that kidn of turf. Each year, they've laid down a new field. So using Theismann's logic, the field has NEVER been ready to play on. I don't remember players slipping that much in the past.
2. He kept saying the field hurt Atlanta's speed. It might have hurt Vick, but I didn't see him trying to run all that much. And what, the Saints don't have speed? Especially that No. 25 guy.
You're supposed to ignore Theismann, don't you know? That's what the guys in the booth do about 75% of the time. (It's okay to ignore the other guys in the booth, too. Though the play by play was actually pretty good.)
And no, outside of #25, the Saints aren't really known for their speed. The Falcons are absolutely known for their speed, though--it's practically their trademark (that and the fact that they have a RB for a QB).
I don't doubt the turf affected the play. After Reggie's first carry (the one where he came limping off the field) he didn't try any more cuts and shortened his stride. Those who didn't, slipped (Michael Jenkins, I'm looking at you...).
But, like you, I'm not really interested in hearing people whine because a team is awful on a particular type of turf. That's what practice is for--they know what the turf is before they get there, so they should suck it up.
Montie, maybe I should have been clearer. Everyone and their grandma knows how fast Michael Vick is, and obviously no team is faster than the Falcons at the QB position.
Yes, the Falcons have a lot of speed. But other than Vick and Dunn, none of their speed guys have significantly contributed. Maybe Norwood will later his career, and maybe Lelie will this season. But they're only role players right now. Michael Jenkins is built like Randy Moss -- tall and fast. But he sucks. He can't get open, he can't outjump guys half his size for the ball, and he doesn't have great hands.
The Saints have Bush, Deuce and Horn, who all run in the 4.35-4.4 range. And they're all key players who are producing.
I'd say the Falcons have a slight edge on speed. But other than Vick and Dunn, their speed is guys who don't contribute greatly.
Whatever speed advantage the Falcons have over their opponents is exaggerated, in part because of their draft strategy over the past 2 or 3 years, but mainly because of No. 7 (and I don't dispute that overall they're a faster team than the Saints...it's just not night and day...more like night and later that night).
It's not like they're the 1999 Rams, who had speedy guys, but they were also great players.
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