Since The Team’s Formation

SINCE THE TEAM’S FORMATION in 1966, the New Orleans Saints have experienced a lot of frustration and little jubilation. But in the 2000 NFL playoffs, the franchise found reason to celebrate.

New Orleans, the NFC West divisional champion, faced the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams at the Superdome in the first round of the playoffs. The teams had just met in the regular season finale with St. Louis claiming a 26–21 victory. The odds of New Orleans exacting revenge appeared bleak, since starting quarterback Jeff Blake and running back Ricky Williams were injured.

True to form, the Rams took an early lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Isaac Bruce.

But then the Saints erupted for 31 straight points as Aaron Brooks threw scoring passes of 12, 10, 49, and 16 yards, and Doug Brien kicked a 33-yard field goal. Willie Jackson, who caught six passes for 142 yards in the contest, snared three touchdown receptions.

Although the 31–7 lead seemed insurmountable, St. Louis attempted a fourth-quarter comeback. Warner tossed two touchdown passes and scored another on a 5-yard scamper, narrowing the margin to 31–28.

With under a minute remaining, the Rams forced a New Orleans punt, but Az-Zahir Hakim botched the fair catch, and the Saints recovered the fumble. Brooks took a knee three times to run out the clock, and New Orleans captured its first playoff victory in the team’s 34-year history.

The entire city of New Orleans celebrated. Their Saints had finally won in the postseason.

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POINT For the die-hard Saints supporters, victory after so many years tasted especially sweet. It’s easy to get excited when our favorite pro team wins.

Many of us enjoy cheering at college games too. High school, middle school, and even youth league contests bring us to our feet after a great play.

But there’s one who deserves our praise even more. We should constantly extol God for his greatness, yet we often find it easier to cheer for our favorite athlete. The Lord is the greatest of all time. And he’s great every moment of every day of every year—for now and forever.

GOAL! Write a prayer of praise to God.