|
New Orleans was granted an NFL franchise
on 1 November, 1966. John W. Mecom, Jr. became the majority
stockholder, and the team was named the Saints on 9 January
1967. Despite a 94 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown
by John Gilliam, the Saints lost their first game 27-13 to
the Los Angeles Rams. Their first season record was 3-11,
and they could not manage to even finish as high as second
in their division until 1979.
In
1980, the Saints lost their first 14 games, prompting fans
to design paper bags to wear over their heads to the team's
home games; the bags rendered the club's name as the "'Aints"
rather than the "Saints," and this practice then
spread rapidly, first to fans of other poorly-performing teams
within the NFL, and ultimately to those of other American
team sports as well, and has become a firmly-established custom
throughout the United States.
Current
Saints owner Tom Benson acquired the franchise in 1985, and
hired Jim Finks as general manager and Jim Mora as head coach.
That combination provided the Saints with their first-ever
winning record and playoff appearance, going 12-3 in the 1987
season, which had one fewer game than normal due to a players'
strike. Another playoff berth would follow in 1990, and the
club's first division title came in 1991.
Current
coach Jim Haslett has held the post since 2000, in which year
he took the team to the playoffs but lost to the Minnesota
Vikings a week after besting the St. Louis Rams for the team's
first ever playoff win. The Saints failed to make the playoffs
in 2001 and 2002, although in the latter year they had the
distinction of beating the eventual Super Bowl XXXVII winners
Tampa Bay in both of their regular season meetings.
First Season: 1967 as an NFL expansion team
Home stadium: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans,
Louisiana
Uniform colors: Black, Old gold, and White
Helmet design: Gold helmet with a black fleur-de-lis
|
Arizona
Cardinals 
