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Saints fans are counting the days: It’s been 1,748 days since this happened

By Dean Mullen

September 27, 2015: XXX in the second quarter between the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. Panthers win over the Saints 27-22. (Photo by Jim Dedmon/Icon Sportswire). (Photo by Jim Dedmon/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images)
September 27, 2015: XXX in the second quarter between the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. Panthers win over the Saints 27-22. (Photo by Jim Dedmon/Icon Sportswire). (Photo by Jim Dedmon/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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When I looked up this stat, this was almost impossible to believe. At the end of the 2011 football season, the Saints beat the Carolina Panthers on January 1st, 2012 45-17 to finish the season at 13-3. In that year the Saints should have made another trip to the Super Bowl. That official clinch of the NFC South Division came 1,748 days ago.

Let that sink in for a second. The Saints have not won the NFC South in nearly five long years. Is that really accurate? The numbers say that it is. Think about that. That means two leap years have passed, and the year 2017 is coming up quick. Sitting at 1-3 behind Atlanta at 4-1 is making it hard to see us winning another division until next year.

I can understand if you find it hard to go back to that time. Remember when Drew Brees broke the single season record with 5,476 yards to break Dan Marino’s record.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 26: Quarterback Drew Brees
NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 26: Quarterback Drew Brees /

That same year we beat the Colts 62-7 in the  Mercedes Benz Superdome in prime time. The Black and Gold also swept the Atlanta Falcons. Can you see it?

The Saints also had Darren Sproles who broke the record for all purpose yards with 2,696 yards. Do you remember? That really did happen. I’m telling you the truth if perhaps you weren’t here at the time.

The Saints also had five, count them five Pro Bowlers that year. Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, Jermon Bushrod, Jahri Evans, and Carl Nicks. The Saints were simply America’s team.

That was 1,748 days ago. The Saints did not go to the Super Bowl, because of a lost to the San Francisco 49ers 36-32. That game was an instant classic.

That game really hurt bad too. The ironic part that as painful as that loss was, most Saints fans would like to turn back the clock to that time.

SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 20: Head Coach Jim Harbaugh of the San Francisco 49ers addresses the team in the locker room, for the last time, following the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi Stadium on December 28, 2014 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 20-17. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 20: Head Coach Jim Harbaugh of the San Francisco 49ers addresses the team in the locker room, for the last time, following the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi Stadium on December 28, 2014 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 20-17. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /

The time where the Saints were unbeatable at home.

Things were different then. Yet sometimes history tends to repeat itself as well. When the Saints lost that game Jim Harbaugh was coaching, and the 49ers were riding high at the time.

The Saints will ironically see the 49ers again in a few weeks, yet it won’t be the same. No, these teams are not in the conversation for making another run this year. Pretty much both teams are just trying to won another game.

Let’s hope that the Saints can get something going this Sunday. Show us that we’ve been all wrong. Show us that there is reason to hope. Show us the 2011 Saints 1,748 days ago, or at least a modernized version of that team. That team was one to be proud of. Make us proud again…

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