Comments

1
Szheeeesh -- it's WHOM to root for. (Yes, I know editors and all go against the grain here, but a few things cry out
2
My vote goes to "for whom to root."
3
I would never want to live in New Orleans (NO!). Indianapolis ain't nothing to brag about, but its better than a shit hole.
4
Indiana is apparently the first place to try, convict, and execute a white man for killing a Native American, at least according to its only worthy native son.
5
Rex Grossman
6
Indiana voted for Obama.

Louisiana was a blow-out for McCain/Palin.

Also, I can't root for a team with Jeremy Shockey and Reggie Kardashian on it.

On a separate note, I think Phoenix is both larger and not on a navigable waterway.

7
Dallas is also not on a navigable waterway and is much larger than Indianapolis. Has been since 1950. Phoenix only since 1980, so Vonnegut's statement may have predated it.

Indianapolis's metro area is also piddly; while the city is 14th largest, the MSA is only 33rd, smaller than Seattle's, and nowhere near DFW or Phoenix.
8
Orleans Parish was a blow out for Obama if y'all need to get political up in it.
9
Having no horse in this race, but always loving the underdog, I'm rooting Saints. I could give a shit about which city is better to live in, or which city voted for Obama, or even which linebacker is gay-friendly. Everyone, even those of us rooting for NO, pretty much assumes that Indy will run away with it. The fact that no one actually thinks the Saints can pull it off makes me want them to win even more.
10
@8,

You think most of the Saints season ticket holders are from Orleans Parish? Or from the surrounding counties that are deep, deep red?

These are your Saints fans right here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJzbIt37F…

11
The douchebaggiest fans in the history of all sports are cub fans, CF, and you know it. I detest ND, there is a lot of crossover of ND and the cubs, and that is truly an unholy alliance of chumpdom. The. WORST.
12
@10 Like red velvet cake, red?

Oh, and your link got lost in the swamp.
13
Wow, it takes a lot of courage to put down Indianapolis! What a controversial stand! I'm just devastated we couldn't do more to please this guy ... does that mean he'll never even visit? How will our lives be worth living? Oh, right--by caressing our second Super Bowl trophy, right next to the one we got by cakewalking over ... let's see, who was that forgettable team we disposed of after we beat the Pats? Maybe "Chicago Fan" could help me remember ...
14
The fact that the Colts beat the Bears in the SB is their one redeeming factor.

Back in the day, I went to Hawks games in the Kingdome. Nosebleed seats, as I was just out of college & broke all the time. I encountered fans from SD, KC, LA & NO. (This was the 80's, remember.) The SD fans didn't know sh*t about football, they just liked to get drunk. The KC fans were defensive & snarky, although they knew their football & obviously supported their team, do-or-die. The LA fans were the worst piece of human excrement imaginable. The NO fans.... Wow.

The only seats I could get were in the middle of the Saints booster section. Those folks put the Fanatic in Fan. Not a single member of their entourage was dressed in anything but black & gold. They drank like fishes. They loved everybody. They never stopped talking to us, offering us swigs from their flasks, cheering every time the Saints made a play, turned to us whenever the Hawks made a play & said "Wow! I bet that makes you happy!" w/ a slap on the back & a grin. (That was the game that Stouffer set a rookie QB record for passing yards.) That was definitely the greatest football game I ever went to, and I've been a Saints fan ever since.

Go Saints!!!
15
Fuck you Chicago Fan!
Go Colts!
Indy does have the Slippery Noodle Inn - what else ya' need fucker?!!??
16
Oh shit, the fat humps (@13) have arrived on Slog! Quick, somebody point this guy toward the nearest Steak And Shake!
17
I love how everyone is quick to dismiss the Saints as if they're a fluke Super Bowl team like last years' Cardinals, and not the most dominant team in the NFC. I would like to see them beat Peyton Manning's fucked-up face like a weeble-wobble.
18
Funny--people in Big, Important Cities like Chicago and Seattle still somehow have nothing better to do than go out of their way to insult Indianapolis, while people in Indy really don't give them that much thought. I guess we have more ways to occupy our time, like rooting for teams that win now and then.

I do understand the love for the "underdog" Saints (are they still underdogs if everyone wants them to win?) But I have to say, the level of class shown by the Who Dat crowd (ooh, a Nazi comparison--zing!) makes it a lot easier to look forward to crushing their dream. At least they'll have plenty of opportunities to drown their sorrows at Mardi Gras; we'll have to make do with a celebratory coffee at Steak & Shake.

As for the Saints themselves--they're a truly classy team (with the exception of Jeremy Shockey). They deserve better fans.
19
I don't really get worked up about all the Notre Dame hatred out there... I mean, I went there and there was clearly no shortage of douchebags. But, as a non-douchebag alumni, I have to say that the anti-ND folks aren't exactly bastions of class either. Things I've seen over the years include Tyrone Willingham hanging in effigy at Michigan, and Ohio State fans mobbing the ND band and punching band members while they were playing. Plus, any number of times when I've been out watching games in bars or whatever where, unprovoked (again, I'm not exactly the obnoxious-while-watching sports type), strangers have been total assholes to me.

People are douchebags. It's hard for me to see how ND is any more douchebaggy because they (a) were once a good team (b) won't join a conference for financial reasons and (c) have a contract with NBC.
20
@18 Relax, it's just a little harmless trash talking. I doubt that anyone from Seattle (who is not originally from Indy or New Orleans) actually cares that much about this game.
21
Even the Weather Channel is getting in on the act:

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2010…
22
The correct reason to root for the Saints is so that Mark Brunell (remember him?) can get a Super Bowl ring.
23
Memorial Day weekend in Indianapolis may not be Mardi Gras, but it deserves a mention. And Manning is only a "soul-less robot" on the football field. He's pretty damn funny on SNL.

So I'm rooting for the Colts, whom I happen to have at 15-1!
24
The bogus drama, trash-talk and ill will of the fans make this sports-averse faggot laugh and laugh. It's like a porthole into the Star Wars cantina.

I don't think I'm better, just hopelessly different.
25
@23 -- 15-1? huh?
26
@25: It was a futures bet made last August.
27
Soulless robot?! He's one of approximately five players in the entire NFL with an actual personality and he's basically the best quarterback in the history of the game. Despite my affections for Peyton, I'm still rooting for the Saints for all the other reasons you mentioned. GEAUX SAINTS!
28
Oh Julie...love you, but where to start? All the reasons you listed are EXACTLY why I find Notre Dame completely insufferable. Sure, they don't have to belong to a conference to participate in revenue-sharing. Why would they ever need or want to? That would be the worst decision their AD ever made. They can take in far more revenue in direct alumni and fan donations, plus ticket revenue, plus merchandising, plus free recruiting every week on TV, plus an automatic BCS bid if they are ranked 12th or above, and keep it all for themselves. Anything you hear about "feast or famine" at Notre Dame is complete bull. They have nearly unlimited coffers. This is also how they can continually make the preseason polls and stay ranked through the season even when they have marginal records that would have knocked out a less visible school weeks before.

Also, NBC's coverage is nothing less than fawning every single week. When they beat (a very mediocre) UW team this season you would have thought Ara Parseghian himself had trundled on down to the 50-yard line to inspire them to victory. Ridiculous. Not to mention they have a free mouthpiece over at ESPN in the personage of Lou Holtz, who has now spent far more time not being a Notre Dame coach than his stature would indicate. This is also how they can continually make the preseason polls and stay ranked through the season even when they have marginal records that would have knocked out a less visible school weeks before. But, for all that, when was the last time they actually fielded a competitive team?

Lastly, it's kind of like the Yankees, Cowboys, or Duke basketball. The legends and mythos are forced down everyone's throats to make it easy for someone to just say they are a fan of Notre Dame and pledge allegiance to its status as "America's college team" (to coin a phrase) and buy the merch without actually having to be invested or even interested in any actual season-by-season results. Don't get me wrong, as a college football fan, I respect their tradition to a point; they are the second winningest program out there and have a devoted fanbase. Unfortunately, that devotion tends to drift towards delusion and annoyance more often than not.
29
Bah, cut n paste fail at the end of the first paragraph.
30
Leave Fort Wayne, East Chicago, Hammond, South Bend and Gary out of it. Indianapolis deserves everything you said.

Mark

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