The Bayou Sports Shop

So Chicago finally came to town!

On Sunday September 17th, what many Saints fans had been looking forward to for years…finally happened! Those Chicago Bears finally came to NOLA to get a payback from us Who Dats! And that’s exactly what happened…on the field. However off the field is what most of us were mad about in the first place.

For the last 5 years I have been waiting for this day…and when I saw it as the Home Opener on the schedule this year I had BIG plans on what I was gonna do to all those UGLY and FOUL Chicago Bears fans when they came to MY HOUSE to watch the game.

My plan was simple…I was gonna get a big Super Soaker water gun and paint it black and gold. I was gonna label it “Cajun Snowball” and fill it with water. I figure a couple of shots of water to a few Bears fans would be funny…and I couldn’t got to jail for shooting some UGLY Bears fans with water…could I? I mean…compared to the snowballs filled with batteries that some fans threw at us in Chicago at the NFC Championship game in 2006…what was a little bit of water right? Not to mention the physical altercations we witness by Bears fans on Saints fans. (One incident I witnessed was two grown women, physically pushing a young Saints fan in the womens restroom) and lets not forget the cheap shot signs about our FEMA trailers, and buying our tickets with FEMA money. Geez…even the waiters treated us badly…they didn’t even want our tips. No wonder we have had bottled up anger for the past 5 years…we were treated badly in Chicago…on every occasion. I was even pushed out of the way upon getting into a cab, by a male Bears fan. Who does that? His team had just won the NFC Championship and was going to the Super Bowl…and he was pushing women down and taking their cabs? New Orleans may be many things…but rude to guests…we are not.

But then it was my sweet husband that made me stop and think about this. He was against me taking my water gunned revenge out on our visiting Bears fans…harmless or not. He made his case, but what hit home for me was one innocent statement.

He said very simply, “That ain’t you babe”. And he made me think…that “Ain’t” me.

I am a loyal friend, a dedicated wife and mother, an honest- hardworking retail shop owner, a dedicated fan and a born New Orleanian by way of Gretna.

Acting like a jerk…just ain’t me. Sure I can show my but on occasion…but we Saints fans are hosts. We love to show our guests a good time. We love to show our guests how much fun we are. We love to show our guests how great a city we live in…and how much they can love it too. We like to share the love.

And on Sunday…despite many years of planning on paying back those Bears fans with hate…I paid them back in love.
And God gave me a great platform to do it with. He guided all my fellow Who Dats to do the exact same thing. We won the game with grace and dignity. We won by being the better team, not by favored calls by the refs. And we won by inviting the two big old Bears fans in front of us to “Stand up and Get Crunk.” We danced with them and playfully took the jabs and gave them right back. Instead of the serious “Bear down Bears” that they are led to sing every score in military style…with the little dot following the words on screen in case they forgot them…they sang along to “Stand up and Get Crunk” without being led…without the words on the screen…just in the fun of the moment.

And we all had a good time….but the scoreboard made it just a tad bit more fun for me. Just saying.

Thanks Saints!

In black and gold I am faithfully,
Shannon