Saints vs. Niners

Guest blogger: Sarah Swig

49er Faithful

The New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers have always been my two favorite NFL teams. My mom grew up in New Orleans and lived there until she moved to San Francisco when she was 30, when she met my dad, who is from San Francisco. They got married, had my two sisters and me, and we’ve lived in San Francisco our entire lives. I grew up an avid 49er fan – my dad worked for the 49ers so we went to nearly every home game. Naturally, my mom grew to love the Niners too, but is a true Saints fan at heart. Since everyone on my mom’s side of the family is from New Orleans, I’ve always had a lot of love for the Saints, so as you can imagine, the 49ers vs. Saints games were always fun and intense in our house.
When I was accepted and committed to Tulane, I knew that the rivalry would only continue. My sophomore year, the Saints played the 49ers in San Francisco in the playoffs, and my mom and grandparents (obviously Saints fans too) were at the game. I watched at a bar in New Orleans, which was a sea of black and gold. There were a few red shirts in there, but we, 49er fans, were no doubt in the minority. The game was one of the best I’ve ever seen, with three touchdowns scored in the last three minutes. The 49ers came out on top and won 36-32, and ever since then, the Saints have anxiously waited for their “revenge” on the 49ers.
Now, my senior year, I was ready to splurge on tickets for the game. I’d been saving up my money from the summer and fall, since I was determined to fulfill my childhood dream of going to a Saints vs. 49er game in New Orleans. I’d never seen the Saints play in the Superdome, and the 49er game was the perfect opportunity. My roommate and fellow Niner fan ended up winning four tickets in the second row from a Tulane raffle, and took two friends and me.

A picture my mom sent me
showing her true loyalty

Even though the 49ers lost, the game was still perfect. It’s my senior year, we won free tickets to see my two favorite teams, and our group had both 49er and Saints fans… I couldn’t have asked for anything more. The Saints ended up winning the game – and I of course was very sad, but seeing the Saints win in the Superdome was very special. It was a close game (20-23) and the Saints fans stepped it up in the last quarter and got LOUD. The Who Dat chants were unlike anything I’d ever heard or seen before, and it is no wonder the Saints haven’t lost a game at home yet this season. For those of you who don’t know, the Who Dat is a chant in support of the Saints. It goes like this, “Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say say dey gonna beat dem Saints?”.  Fans are also called Who Dats, the general Saints community is referred to as Who Dat Nation, and there are beautiful black and gold Who Dat signs all over the city.

As sad as I was for my Niners, for my friends from home, and for my dad, I couldn’t help but also feel happiness at the Saints win. The Saints are a team that unite New Orleans, and provided hope that New Orleans could once again be what it was after Hurricane Katrina. Following the storm, there was talk and worry that the Saints were going to move to San Antonio, and New Orleans would lose its NFL team. Almost five years later, the Saints reached a deal, and will stay in New Orleans until at least 2025. That same year, in 2009, the Saints won Super Bowl (My mom made so much jambalaya I literally couldn’t eat the next day). This united and bonded everyone in New Orleans, and provided optimism and hope that the city would grow to be even better than it once was. There is something very unique about the spirit of Saints fans - whether going to school here for four years or having been born here – everyone equally feels that same passion for Saints. They represent love for this city, and proof that New Orleans is resilient against all odds. The 49ers will always be my number 1, but the Saints will forever hold a very special place in my heart.

My sisters and I when the Saints won the Super Bowl