NEW ORLEANS -- I spent yesterday with a 3:45 a.m. wake-up call, a trip to rainy New Orleans and access to several Saints players and coaches.
It was good to spend a few moments withDarren Sharper, the former Vikings safety who's now the Saints All-Pro safety.I did a column on Sharper for today's paper. Near theinterview, Sharp laughed and said his new teammates pick on him for being 34, which in NFL safety years is graybeard territory.
"I am old," said Sharper, who had nine interceptions, three for touchdowns, and an NFL-record 376 return yards this season. "But I think I'm a guy that the younger guys can look up to and learn from when it comes to knowing what it takes to prepare yourself for this league."
Sharper is the Saints' fourth-oldest player, but the oldest starter.
Working the Saints' locker room, you get a feeling for how intertwined these players are with a community that is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina almost five years later. Several players and coaches have relief foundations they've set up. The Saints' players are the league's most active when it comes to Twitter accounts. I hear Reggie Bush has over a million followers.
Walking around downtown, you get a sense for what a win on Sunday would mean to these people. Yeah, it sounds corny to attach the outcome of a football game to a city's mental health, but, hey, that's America, I guess.
The Saints would have been the sentimental favorites regardless. After all, this is a franchise that was founded in 1967 and didn't have a winning season for 21 years! It didn't make the playoffs until 1991. It didn't win a playoff game until the 2000 season. It didn't make a conference championship until the 2006 season, when it had to go to Chicago.
The Saints also are one of only five teams that have never been to a Super Bowl. The others are Jacksonville, Houston, Detroit and Cleveland.