I am not sure…what I am sure of is these guys trademarked the name of a song on a C.D….in the 80’s. So now…they think they own the phrase. And this got me to thinking….about all the songs music C.D’s thru the years and how popular phrases have songs with the same title? If we are suppose to believe that they own “Who Dat” in all it’s forms then I wanna know where the inspiration to the song title they trademarked 30 years ago came from? All art comes from some inspiration…right? I am pretty sure that it came from the fans who cheer for their Saints…he says he came up with the “battle cry” so it could be used by the fans. Then he named the band “The Singing Saints”. It’s unfortunate that this man thinks he invented this phrase…much like thinking that The Beatles invented the words “She loves me” or Justin Bieber invented the words “Baby, Baby, Baby”. It was a song that was inspired by the fans…hence the reason for the name of the band the “Singing Saints”. Just like everything else about New Orleans, one of the oldest cities in America…no one owns the word “Saints” nor the Fleur De Lis….or Who Dat. They are a part of New Orleans history and belongs to The City of New Orleans. And that means it doesn’t belong to you…not even in a literal sense…because you don’t even live in NOLA dude. So back off.

Who Dat is and always will belong to the fans of the New Orleans Saints. I guess you better start looking for a real job and stop trying to scare retailers.

If you disagree…I invite your reply.

Shannon

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this new name…after all since I was born 3 blocks away from the Superdome…it’s never been called anything but that. Now after 40 years…for me atleast…it’s gonna take a little time to digest. We southern women like to chew things a little longer to really taste the flavor. So I did that….and now it sounds kinda “classy”. I started thinking about all the names our Dome could have gotten…like Zapps Dome or Tabasco Superdome or even Entergy Superdome….and I am very happy with the name now. Just 5 years ago…no-one was even thinking of the Superdome as an opportunity to brand it’s product…because NO-ONE wanted to even be associated with New Orleans. Yet here we are…just a few years after one of the greatest disasters in US History happened in New Orleans…and it’s a new day and a new Dome…sorta.

Times they are a changing around NOLA. We have a “productive” City Hall. FINALLY! One that wants all flavors of chocolate…not just the dark kind…around. A local government that has called for accountability, and restored the meaning of hard work for it’s employees. NOLA has done away with the theives of our old school board that robbed our children’s educational funds dry and has created Charter School competition to see which school can improve and out score the other…the quickest.

We got a new police chief that’s putting the “dark forces” that ruled our city with violence and fear for years…BEHIND bars. Citizens are starting to see the light…and are feeling safe enough to testify against them.

And finally…after a long time waiting… New Orleans finally has a smart and respected Head Coach in Sean Payton, a professional and fantastic quarterback in Drew Brees and a smart, female “active” owner in Rita Benson LeBlanc.

It’s nice to feel proud to call NOLA home these days.

I’ll see ya’ll in the Mercedes Benz Superdome on the 23rd…it’s going down!

Shannon

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

Airline drive has been buzzing with Media and fans at training camp. My husband stopped by there today and got Drew Brees’ autograph. He was so excited. So if you get a chance to pass over there, you should. You never know who will take the time to sign autographs. You just may get Mark Ingram’s most coveted John Hancock and be the envy of the neighborhood.

I guess I’ll be going to the first pre-season game to check out my new seating location. Since the Dome remodel my section 138 has been eliminated. Our new section is 119. Also college colors day is September 2nd and we have lots of new apparel in for the coming season. Dem Tigers gonna look sharp this year!

Also we are expanding! We plan on doubling our space here on Terry Pkwy. I am hoping to have this done by the first regular season game…it’s just a matter of getting it all coordinated.

So stop by and check us out soon. There’s lots of changes coming our way.

Thanks for all your support!
Shannon

See my first response to this whole “lockout thing” was this: As a fan we don’t pay those gigantic prices to see the owners…we pay to see the players. We pay the big bucks to watch those professional atheletes throw an incredible spirial down field…make a gravity defying catch in the end zone…sack an opposing teams’ quarterback on a 4th down attempt…or cut a route short and intercept the ball for a pick 6 with 10 seconds left in the game to win it. We pay to watch our favorite players wear our team jerseys with pride and do on the field what no “mere mortal” can do: play football like only a true athlete can. We pay to see these Gladiators do battle every Sunday. Most will be injured throughout the season, but will battle thru those injuries for the sake of winning…FOR THEIR FANS!

But here’s the thing…as a business owner…how should I feel about the players asking their “owners” to show them their books. I was told by a good friend of mine who owns his own business like myself…that “I should be against the players asking for financial information from their “employers” because that would be like my employees asking to see my financial records”. He thinks that is the same thing. And I don’t believe it is. First off…my employees are not a skilled employee…nor do they risk there life everytime they come to work. Secondly, any one can be trained to do retail…however there aren’t very many Drew Brees’, Tom Brady’s or Peyton Manning’s in the world. And lastly, the owners are asking for “more money” because they “need it”. So they players are asking to confirmation of this need. Now if a business owner was asking for a “SBA loan” from the government because they needed it or a BP grant because they needed it…THE FIRST THING THOSE ENTITIES WOULD DEMAND IS PROOF OF SUCH NEED. I have never asked for a loan from any entity in the world…and when asked for proof of income told that entity “TRUST ME”. Are you kidding…any bank in the world would laugh me out of the building.

The truth is…there is 1 billion dollars that has not been alloted to a perticular fund as of yet by the NFL. The NFL has made 9 billion dollars to divide up between any entitiy they choose. They could put it towards more charities, or help out Japan and the Gulf Coast recovery efforts. But no…they have decided to back these greedy owners with a “1 billion dollar bonus” on top of the 6 billion they already receive. And the players are correct in their lawsuit that the NFL owns the monoply in professional football but we as fans allow it because we LOVE our TEAMS and the entertainment.

So I say this 1 billion dollars in question should go back to the fans. After all…without us they wouldn’t even be fighting over it in the first place. They should give each and every season ticket holder a 100.00 dollar break on their season tickets. That sounds fair…don’t cha think?

Or the courts could “award” this money to the fans…so we can start our own competive league…

JUST SAYING…and as always I invite your legitimate reply.

In black and gold I am faithfully,
Shannon

I guess after last season it’s hard to feel confident…I mean who can be blessed with a miracle “TWICE” in their lifetimes? Could we “The Who Dat Nation” be that blessed to actually see the promise land twice in our lives?

Most say it can be done…and I believe!!!

So my prayers for the rest of this week will go as follows: (feel free to use it yourself tonite)

Dear Lord,

In your name we pray…
AMEN!

See you guys in Seattle…and yes we are sleepless…but we are hopeful that the dear Lord will hear our prayers and grant us these blessings.

After all…we have suffered enough for two lifetimes…why not two Championships?

In black and gold I am faithfully,

Shannon

I am calling out the Offensive line. It starts and ends with them. If Drew Brees is the head of this body of a team then the O-line is the neck. Nothing works right if you can’t hold your head up. Drew might be the eyes and ears but the view and sound is distorted without a level head. So this game and all the glory that goes with a win will depend on the O-line. They have got to give Drew a 10 count…and then this win is a huge possibility.

I love Ray Lewis. I love what he does on and off the field. However…one man does not a team make. We know this (Reggie). So that being said…we gotta keep those Pro Bowlers in check on Sunday.

But I feel in my heart that the New Orleans Saints will be the first NFC South team to win it all TWICE. Even if we have to be road warriors…like the Giants were…we CAN do it. Rain, Sleet, Snow. Our Saints play with heart…and they love the city that loves them back. The rookies are starting to know what it means to love New Orleans. And it shows.

So Baltimore…we love you…NOLA is a loving town…but we have to win this game Sunday. I hope you all won’t have too much of a problem with that.

We have way too many angels in our backfield not to win. So if a crazy wind carries a kick right into the hand of one of our defensive backs and he gets a invisble push into the end zone…just say a little prayer for one of our angels.

They have been waiting to be a fan of winners….for 44 plus years and even death couldn’t come between them and Saints football.

We Love you Gramma and Mama Marty and we miss you much! Watch over your Saints on Sunday and keep them safe and strong!

Shannon

Okay so it’s not the BCS…so what? Our LSU Tigers can’t win every year…people would really hate LSU then…lol. It’s bad enough we ACT like we are BCS champions every year.

Anyway the stadium in Arlington is amazing…really. If you go you won’t be sorry. The Sheraton in Arlington is walking distance to the Standium and it sure beats sitting in traffic trying to get out of there. Plus the bar is pretty festive!

Tiger fans…show up and represent like only Lousiana can!

Geaux Tigers!

Hey Saints fans! I hope you enjoyed the Turkey (Roy Williams)!!! I went to the game in Jerry’s World and it is a beautiful stadium…but lacked a lot of the soul that our Superdome has! They have to be reminded to get loud on 3rd downs and 4th downs…they have to show videos of players being stupid to get them into the game.
I guess all the money in the world can’t buy awesome fans like us.

Anyway…today I am the biggest Green Bay fan EVER! We need a little help to get those Falcons in check…and I think Green Bay is just the team to do it.

So in closing I wanted to share a few things I am thankful for this Saintsgiving:
My family and friends
The good health of my family, friends and myself
My wonderful city
My Saints

The rest is just details….right?
Shannon