“Run, boy, run!” Mom uttered excitedly as the New Orleans Saintsran a play that was actually working.

I groaned in silence, hoping for a fumble or some other miscueto restore my faith in the sorry Saints. Why did I have to endurethis pitiful display of football again?

The year was 1975 … or ’76 … or ’79. Heck, it could havebeen the earlier ’80s for all it mattered. The Saints stunk andthey earned every bit of that missing ‘S’ moniker during thosedays.

But sad and sorry or not, the Saints were going to be on theSunday afternoon television at the Coleman household.

Mom didn’t watch much football but she did root for the Saints.I imagine having former Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning on theteam had a lot to do with it, too.

I, on the other hand, grew to hate the Saints. It was not out ofany animosity toward any particular player, I just could notunderstand how one team could be so miserable for so long.

And what had I done to deserve this punishment of having towatch them week after week? What I had done, through no fault of myown, was live in the Saints’ “regional coverage” area as dictatedby the bosses in the National Football League and the TVnetworks.

I live even closer to New Orleans now. But thanks to morenetworks available via cable and satellite television, regionalcoverage is not as much of a problem for me anymore.

Back in the days of my Vicksburg youth, though, regionalcoverage meant mostly the Saints. The old Houston Oilers, MiamiDolphins and Atlanta Falcons would occasionally find their way toMississippi television sets. From a regional standpoint, I rootedfor the Oilers.

However, my favorite team was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Part ofthe reason for my support was quarterback Terry Bradshaw, plus thefact they were almost always winning – something the Saints justdidn’t know how to do.

A lot changed in the late ’70s, though, when I was exposed tothe Seattle Seahawks, an expansion team from the Great Northwestthat had really cool helmets and featured a lot of trick plays intheir arsenal. Wide receiver Steve Largent became my favoriteplayer, and he remains so today.

Being an expansion team, though, my Seahawks were a bit like mymom’s Saints. Winning wasn’t something either of us enjoyed a lot,but fake field goals and other trick plays at least made my ‘Hawksinteresting.

In my mind, I contemplated whether the Saints or the Seahawkswould reach the playoffs first. Either reaching the Super Bowl wasreally and truly dreaming.

My Seahawks won the playoffs race, going so far as the AFCchampionship game in the 1984 season. The Super Bowl eluded my teamthanks to a good thumping by the Raiders.

My team also got to the Super Bowl first – in 2006 to face theSteelers. Alas, my team came out on the wrong end of thescoreboard.

Then there was last year when the Saints went on their magicalrun to a Super Bowl championship.

Over the years, as they’ve shown some signs of life, I’vesoftened my stance on the Saints. They’re still far from high on mylist, but I tolerate them a lot better now.

Mom died in 2000 and wasn’t around to see either of our teamsreach the Super Bowl promised land. I’m sure she was a part of theheavenly chorus cheering the Saints to victory.

High school football season has kicked off and college and thepros are not too far off. Good luck and good health to localplayers and coaches, and here’s hoping all our favorite teams dowell.

That’s all for now.

Write to Matt Coleman at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven MS 39602,or send e-mail to mcoleman@dailyleader.com.