Saints fans just happy for some football

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Scattered among the thousands of Giants fans barbecuing and tossing footballs in the parking lot Monday night were a few people wearing Saints jerseys. They were resigned to being severely outnumbered, but they were thankful to see some football.

Keith Windmann of St. Rose, La., about 15 miles west of New Orleans, and Grant Vogel of Metairie, a New Orleans suburb, were sharing food with Giants fans at a cookout outside the stadium. Their black and gold shirts stood out in the sea of blue Giants jerseys for what is supposed to be a Saints home game.

“Saints fans don’t get a chance to tailgate,” said Windmann, one of the lucky ones whose home sustained only minimal damage from Hurricane Katrina. “The Saints are helping by starting the season off good. People appreciate that.”

Vogel said his home was severely damaged by flooding and might need to be demolished. He’s relocated to four locations since the storm and, along with Windmann, drove to Milwaukee to visit a brother before heading to New Jersey for Monday’s game.

“This takes our minds off what’s going on for a few hours. Last week, it was like a little Super Bowl for us to see that win against Carolina.”

The Saints “home” opener in a stadium more than 1,000 miles from Louisiana had the team sharing the spotlight with jazz greats and ex-presidents united to bring relief to the battered Gulf Coast.

Football took a back seat to a massive fund-raising effort organized by the NFL in coordination with relief agencies to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The Saints were among those uprooted by the storm, which caused heavy damage to the roof of the Louisiana Superdome, their home field. The team relocated its headquarters to San Antonio and will play the rest of its home games there and at LSU’s stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

Several hundred displaced New Orleans residents were being flown to the New York-New Jersey area by relief agencies to attend the game at Giants Stadium, and about 85 survivors staying at Camp Edwards on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod were scheduled to attend with tickets donated by the NFL.

The NFL suspended its television blackout rule for the game, even though several thousand tickets went unsold.The league customarily blacks out games locally when all tickets aren’t sold, but waived that rule because of what it called “extraordinary circumstances.”

As for buying tickets, Saints season ticket holders and others who already had purchased tickets to the game were given first priority, followed in order by Giants season ticket holders, people on the Giants’ season ticket waiting list and the general public.

The few people in line for tickets before the game Monday night were Giants fans.

Windmann, a Saints season ticker holder, said he was more inclined to sell his remaining tickets – to the games in Baton Rouge and San Antonio – rather than attend. He preferred if the Saints were playing a home game on the road that it be in a place such as Giants Stadium.

“I don’t think it’s unfair,” he said.

Still, the stadium had few accouterments to give it a New Orleans feel. While SAINTS was painted in white – not the team’s gold and black colors – in one end zone, it looked like an afterthought, especially with GIANTS in the other end zone.

The promised fleur-de-lis, the team’s logo, was not painted on the field.

Souvenir stands were filled with Giants merchandise. Not even a Saints pennant or pen was available.

At a MasterCard booth outside the ballpark, both Giants and Saints blankets were being given away for people signing up for a credit card. Usually, only paraphernalia from the home team is handed out. Then again, the Saints officially were the home team.

A vendor estimated customers were selecting one Saints blanket for every 15 of the Giants.

At midfield before kickoff, the NFL presented a check for $1 million to the hurricane relief effort, and the Giants gave a check for $250,000.

During the game, the league sponsored a telethon to raise money for a relief committee headed by former Presidents Bush and Clinton. Inside the stadium, the Red Cross collected money from fans that will be matched by the Giants. Victims of the disaster were honored before the game and at halftime.

Pianist Harry Connick Jr. and saxophonist Branford Marsalis, both New Orleans natives, played the national anthem, and New Orleans trumpeter Irvin Mayfield performed “America The Beautiful.”

The Mississippi-based band 3 Doors Down was to play at halftime.

Former President Bush and New Orleans Police Chief Eddie Compass participated in the pregame coin toss.