Where's the Football Spirit?

Call me a homesick southern girl and you've got it right, but I just can't help myself these days.  This weekend Chris and I decided to go out to watch the Saints game on Sunday (we usually watch it at home because it's never broadcasted up here) since they were playing the Patriots, hence a local game that would actually be broadcasted with sound.  When we got to the place, we were surprised to see that there were a lot of empty, available tables and not a lot of fans (Patriots fans that is...the local team).  Although we shouldn't have been as surprised since we quickly noticed the mixed fan base up here (everyone wearing a random football jersey on game days), it still threw us completely off.  I couldn't help but compare the football scene here to how it is down south.  

If you walk around New Orleans or anywhere in Louisiana, everybody, and I mean everybody is wearing their Saints gear- wether it be a jersey, t-shirt, hat... something!  And this isn't just to the game or to the bar to watch the game, this includes grocery shopping, running errands, etc.    It's even a common occurrence during the offseason.  And you for sure will not see any other team logo, unless they're fans from the visiting team of course.  You see the spirit.  You hear it.  It's in the air.  We live and breathe it.  

You can walk into any given bar or restaurant and be assured that it's going to be full with fans cheering, even if we are losing.  Sure, not everybody may choose to watch the game at a bar, but like I said, you still hear and see the spirit because it's all around you.  That's just how it is and that's the Who Dat nation for ya!  The same goes for LSU game days on Saturday.  

But up here where I am in New England, something is just missing.  I saw one person wearing a Pats jersey yesterday and maybe about two or three wearing a shirt.  No one seemed to really be into the game.  The spirit was missing.  It was just off.  And my experience was no different than a few other times as well (like the time I counted 12 other team jerseys in a bar.. what?!).  Sure, the fans exist or else the games wouldn't sell out, but it's just much more prevalent and all around you where I'm from.  Maybe it's because football is more of a southern thing, who knows.  But I just didn't get it.  I miss the all around fun we have in New Orleans, the constant reasons for celebrations, and the never ending excuses to throw a party.  We celebrate everything and even if it's just a normal Sunday football game, it will probably be more fun than a year in advance planned celebration up here.  Some may disagree, but that's how I see it.  Read the end of this post to know what I mean.

We still made the best of the situation and indulged in wings, mac n cheese, beer, and mojitos.  Life is good y'all, even if the Saints didn't win ;)