Friday, Feb. 5 Legacy… and our Saints
I remember well Sunday September 17, 1967. We rushed home from church and turned on the television to see the first regular season NFL game of the New Orleans Saints. I sat between my friends Paul and Ritchie Young.
There was a huge crowd on hand (80,879 fans) in Tulane Stadium as the Los Angeles Rams kicked off to the Saints.
The kickoff went to rookie RB John Gilliam at the six-yard line. Gilliam broke through a crowd of Rams and emerged 94 yards later in the end zone. The stadium went wild and so did we.
First play in Saints history.
First touchdown for our new team.
We turned to each other in excitement, exchanging high fives (or however we celebrated in 1967) yelling, “Hey, we’ve got ourselves a team!”
However, the Saints lost the game 27-13. They did win three of their games in that inaugural season, but it wasn’t until twenty seasons later that they posted their first winning season.
Since that day in 1967, the Saints have lost 381 more games (compared to 264 wins.)
They’ve kicked off 41 seasons since 1967 and had only eight winning seasons.
I’m not picking on my hometown team. They’re Louisiana’s team. Our New Orleans Saints.
However, they are a good example of starting well… and finishing poorly.
Being a middle-aged man who knows he has lived over half his life, legacy stays on my mind more these days.
I believe my own greatest legacy will be the three sons DeDe and I have raised, as well as the three grandsons they are raising (with hopefully more to come with a granddaughter thrown in.)
Because these grandchildren are at a malleable age, I want to spend my time, love, and money in instilling a positive and Godly legacy in their lives.
Legacy is not about buildings or titles.
Real legacy has little to do with fame, money, or possessions.
If that is all a person is remembered for, I wonder about their priorities during the time they sucked air on this earth.
Rather, it’s about who you leave behind… and the memories they hold.
And memories are made when life is going on.
Finish strong.
Live strong.
Who dat say they gonna beat them Saints. Who dat!
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