It was wonderful yesterday writing about how next year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Super Bowl will feature the Oakland Raiders pummeling Dallas by about 87 to 3. Yet, family members who realize I bleed Raiders black and gray interrupted the joy; this column needs to be about this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Super Bowl. Or so they say.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, I wanted to convince family members that the Raiders will be in the big game next year. So I asked around:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If a team could win the game on just deserts, local fans would clinch it for the New Orleans Saints in Sunday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Super Bowl XLIV. Most of those interviewed \u00e2\u20ac\u201d most of them strangers to me previously \u00e2\u20ac\u201d would like to see the team of Hurricane Katrina survivors take home the trophy.<\/p>\n
The Saints, though underdogs, clearly are the preference of Las Vegas fans. Here is some reaction:<\/p>\n
Albert Tafoya, Larry Martinez, Bruce Andersen, Ernest Encinias, Sandy Brown, Maire Lopez, Irene Taylor, Rosita Griego, Manuel Ortega, Suzette Rudolph, JoAnn Gonzales and Paul Archuleta have the Saints as sentimental favorites. The team that last week spanked the peripatetic Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings just came out of nowhere to win 13 regular season games. Remember, they were 4-12 in 1980.<\/p>\n
Because this is a new experience for the boys from the bayou, lots of people are rooting for them.<\/p>\n
Albert Tafoya, a wellness supervisor at the City Recreation Center, puts it well: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Saints are well balanced on offense and defense. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re playing on all eight cylinders.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Tafoya, a Dolphins fan, predicts a 24-20 score with New Orleans on top.<\/p>\n
Larry Martinez, a librarian at Luna Community College and a loyal Raider fan, said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always for the underdog.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Yet, he says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Colts will probably win because of their experience; they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been there before, but it depends on who shows up for the game.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Martinez emphasizes that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153showing up\u00e2\u20ac\u009d applies to virtually any endeavor, not just football.<\/p>\n
Bruce Andersen, a podiatrist, predicts the Saints will win it \u00e2\u20ac\u0153by three points or as close as one point.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Andersen said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I pick the Saints because of their energy. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never been there before.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more a fan of particular quarterbacks, namely Joe Montana, Doug Flutie and Kurt Warner. Andersen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ready to scratch Bret Favre off his list.<\/p>\n
Ernest Encinias, a media technician at LCC, is a Dallas Cowboy fan. For this game he prefers New Orleans, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153but the Colts\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Peyton Manning is too tough, too accurate.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Like most others interviewed, Encinias says the Saints deserve to win, as they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve \u00e2\u20ac\u0153never been there before.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Local physician Sandy Brown is a Dallas fan \u00e2\u20ac\u0153because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m from there.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He expects the Colts to win by 10 or more points because of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good offensive routine and experience, especially with Peyton Manning.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Yet, Brown prefers a Saints win.<\/p>\n
Maire (pronounced \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mora\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) Lopez, deputy city clerk, is impressed by the Saints\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153strong game against Minnesota in the playoffs.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a Bears fan, her mother being from Chicago. Maire hopes for a Saints victory.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153After all they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through, they deserve it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Irene Taylor said of the Saints. Taylor, a home health care worker who also works at Semilla Natural Foods, needed to be reminded about who this Sunday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s combatants are. (It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the Saints and the Colts, Irene.) She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a Dallas fan.<\/p>\n
Irene\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friend, Rosita Griego, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d just finished working out at the recreation center, agrees that the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Saints deserve it … and we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget Katrina.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Rosita, from Pe\u00c3\u00b1asco, is working on a master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s degree in educational leadership at Highlands. Her gridiron tastes range from the Dolphins to the Broncos to the Dallas Cowboys. Rosita predicts a 14-7 victory for the Saints.<\/p>\n
JoAnn Gonzales has a temporary position at city hall, as she works for the upcoming municipal election. Her input: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s playing? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how much I know.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And yet, often some of the least addicted fans have the best predictions. JoAnn says the Saints are deserving and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll probably be close.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Wisely, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a Raider fan, which means things will be looking up just a year from now.<\/p>\n
Dallas fan Paul Archuleta, has been in Las Vegas for the past 10 years. He said he hopes the Saints win. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s retired from Juvenile Services in Eagle Nest. He predicts a close game.<\/p>\n
Johnny Martinez works with the railroad and is also the girls\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 assistant basketball coach at West Las Vegas. The Tecolote resident expects the Colts to win because \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been there, done that.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Martinez said he likes the Colts\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153vast experience, especially for Peyton Manning.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Martinez is a Raider fan.<\/p>\n
Suzette Rudolph, a control clerk for the City Recreation Center, opines, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tough one\u00e2\u20ac\u009d when asked to predict Sunday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s outcome. But like most others, she favors the Saints \u00e2\u20ac\u0153because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never been there before.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Manuel Ortega, a cook at the Subway in Romeroville, believes the Saints are deserving of a win \u00e2\u20ac\u0153because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the underdogs.”<\/p>\n
Ortega obviously knows his football. When asked his favorite team not in this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Super Bowl, he named the Oakland Raiders. The man even has a professionally applied tattoo on the front of his right calf. Now that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dedication.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
Now, as for the unusual number of Raider fans \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Larry Martinez, JoAnn Gonzales, Johnny Martinez and Manuel Ortega \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I can only claim coincidence. These four Oakland fans probably represent 75 percent of the local Raider Nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was wonderful yesterday writing about how next year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Super Bowl will feature the Oakland Raiders pummeling Dallas by about 87 to 3. Yet, family members who realize I bleed Raiders black and gray interrupted the joy; this column needs to be about this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Super Bowl. Or so they say. Nevertheless, I wanted to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=531"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":536,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions\/536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}