Tag: who dat nation

New Orleans Saints fans take over Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium

New Orleans Saints fans took over AT&T Stadium on Sunday, parading out of the arena with a second line after their win over the Dallas Cowboys:

New Orleans Saints fans had a strong presence at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, with audible “Who Dat” chants carrying over the FOX Sports broadcast in-between  their team’s big plays. And afterwards, Dallas Cowboys media caught sight of Saints fans marching out of the arena with a second line after their win on the road.

That’s an impressive sight — a river of black and gold jerseys complete with festive umbrellas and what certainly appears to be a trombone and a couple of sousaphones.

Natural geography has made Dallas a popular destination for Saints fans looking catch a road game without traveling too far from Louisiana; it’s a short flight or a manageable drive across state lines for many of them, and they clearly had a good time. A historic scoring output and lockdown defense will do that. We’re guessing this wasn’t the home opener Cowboys fans had in mind.

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Saints’ Who Dat Nation ranked among top-5 most-passionate fan bases

Fans of the New Orleans Saints were listed among the most passionate fan bases in America’s major sports leagues by a recent Forbes ranking.

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The New Orleans Saints fan base is a group that punches above its weight class. While their television market might be one of the smaller you’ll find around the NFL, Saints fans have an unmatched appetite for football — often turning in the nation’s highest ratings for prime-time games, whether the black and gold are involved or not.

But Saints fans do more than tune in when a game is on. According to a list put together by Forbes staff writer Christian Settimi, the Who Dat Nation ranks fourth among America’s most-passionate fan bases. That puts them shoulder-to-shoulder with supporters of the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. and ahead of the leaders in other sports like the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and MLB’s Boston Red Sox.

Settimi considered factors like team value (the Saints are estimated to be worth $2.275 billion), social media following (5.4 million between Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook), and average home game attendance (with 73,082 spectators packing the Mercedes-Benz Superdome). She also noted that New Orleans throws a ton of hometown support behind its team:

A full 75% of New Orleans residents identify as Saints fans—second in the NFL to Green Bay’s 82% with the Packers—helping to make the “Who Dat” nation’s social media following four times as big as the city’s population of 1.3 million.

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Sean Payton reminds Saints fans to show out, get loud for early 49ers game

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton values his homefield advantage, and wants fans ready for an early kickoff with the San Francisco 49ers.

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New Orleans saints head coach Sean Payton appreciates the impact his home crowd can make inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and he’s doing all he can to inspire their support again this week. And it isn’t the first time he’s gone out of his way to compliment — and challenge — the rowdy Who Dat Nation; back in October, Payton suggested fans would wake up easier with help from a Bloody Mary cocktail on their way to a noon kickoff against the Arizona Cardinals. He’s driving that point home again ahead of Sunday’s game with the San Francisco 49ers.

“We think about a lot of things, we think about everything, is it going to be loud, can we be louder?” Payton said during his Thursday media availability before Saints practice. “It’s going to be a noon game. Does the crowd realize how much of an impact they can have. Do they truly realize that?”

However, the visiting team isn’t quite so mindful of the crowd. 49ers running back Raheem Mostert has been impressed by how well fans have traveled this season for road games with teams lacking homefield support, like the Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Redskins, and Los Angeles Rams. He’s said he expects Sunday’s game in the Superdome to feel like a neutral site game.

We’ll see how that works out for him. If Payton gets his way and Saints fans turn out in droves even with a midday kickoff, there shouldn’t be any doubt by the time the final whistle calls.

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