The night before the Superdome’s 2006 reopening, former Saints Head Coach Sean Payton told his team, gathered at midfield, that it would be a special night… but only if they won.
Getting the Superdome “football ready” in less than a year post-Katrina was special, regardless of the outcome that Monday night vs. Atlanta 20 years ago. But the Steve Gleason blocked punt and eventual victory over the Falcons made the night something of NFL legend.
The Saints won’t have the Superdome's reopening to fall back on tonight. The lead-up and pregame will be special and emotionally charged as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of that September 25th night; that’s a given. But what happens after kickoff will determine whether we remember this night.
It’s being called the “Domecoming,” and rightfully so. But it’s also time the Saints took back the building they once owned in Prime Time for years by putting together some Caesars Superdome victories.
The crowd was amped last week against the Raiders, with the Saints leading 27-16 in the third quarter, and it felt like the building of old. Fans on their feet, crunk blaring. But it was not to be, as the Black and Gold fourth-quarter comeback kids gave one Away, which makes tonight’s game that much more important.
The Saints are in the midst of a 3-game home stretch, with 4 of their next 6 games in Caesars Superdome. They let one get away to Kirk Cousins, yet again, and they can ill afford to make it 2 home losses in a row to the rival Dirty Birds.
These home games matter because once we hit Week 11 in November, the Saints will have only 3 home games in the final 8 of the season. And, sure, the Saints have been good on the road, but you don’t want to need road wins down the stretch. Win at home now, and stop fighting uphill.
Perhaps a Monday Night Football game with the Falcons is the remedy, as great memories have followed the Falcons' victories on Monday Night in the Big Easy. We all know the 2006 23-3 victory over Atlanta got the Saints off to a 3-0 start, a 10-6 finish, and all the way to the franchise's first-ever NFC championship game.
But we talk about the 2009 Monday Night game with Atlanta far less. That one ended pretty well, too. In 2009, the Saints again hosted the Falcons on Monday Night and won 35-27. The victory kept the Saints undefeated at 7-0. They would continue that win streak to 13 straight, and, eventually, the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.
It’s only week 4, and plenty can happen; it is the NFC South. But I say let’s lean in a little and make a Monday night victory over the Falcons another springboard to more than just a successful season—let’s make it a season that we’ll celebrate with anniversaries in the years to come.
It all starts tonight with the 114th meeting between these two clubs that began in 1967. A Saints victory tonight, and the regular-season series will be all square at 57-57. And it will be a much-needed victory in front of the die-hard home fans eagerly waiting to take back the Dome.
A Saints victory over Atlanta will tie the series between the rivals at 57-57.
A Saints victory over Atlanta will tie the series between the rivals at 57-57.
