Let's begin with the A-word: Anticipation. Saints fans anticipated Sunday's home opener at the Superdome would be a pretty one-sided affair.
The New York Giants continued their season from the previous one with struggles and had managed to amass three losses on the young 2021 season so far.
So as the people arrived at the newly rechristened Caesars Superdome they were ready for what should've been an anticipated fairly easy contest.
However, the A of anticipation turned into anxiety as the Giants proved to be a lot more formidable challengers for the Saints D (Defense) and fans clearly could notice by the middle of the second half.
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones racked up a 400-yard performance and kept his team in a game where that went into overtime and a win.
This is where the D-word came out in the end.
Disappointment. The word flowed from the mouths of fans young and old and was usually within the first three words fans used to describe their feelings about the days outing by the team. Fans were disappointed in the loss, disappointed in the performance of Taysom Hill's interception throw, despite his exhilarating touchdown run earlier in the game. They were disappointed in the performance of the defense, which seemed overconfident, then overworked late in the game.
Mostly, they were disappointed in Sean Payton. Who replaced Jameis Winston whose touchdown pass was overturned by a penalty and Taysom Hill was hurriedly inserted to run the same play all over again, this time resulting in a pick.
So the day was over seven minutes into a 21-21 overtime when Daniel Jones' squad pushed the Saints defense down the field and scored to take the game. Disappointment rained from the mouths of fans.
Still, fans were able to put a bright spin on the failure of Sunday's outing. Ever true Saints fans, rather than focus on the pitfalls of the afternoon, reveled in the joy of seeing the team return to the Superdome.
They were happy to be in attendance once again. They were more than patient to wait for the next game and with hope to see their team once again take to the gridiron. Hope does spring eternal.
