The New Orleans Saints 50th anniversary series: No. 50, Superdome catches fire

This year the Saints turn the big 5-0. Fifty years of memories that sticks with fans forever. The memories weren’t always pretty, but they were real. Sometimes, going through some of the bad times and the bizarre, can make those good times feel even better. So without further ado, let’s count it down.

#50- The dome catches fire in 1991

It’s fitting that this moment is ranked number fifty, because this happened 25 years ago. In 1991, the New Orleans Saints were celebrating their 25th anniversary as a team. This quote sums it up.

"The Saints were just trying to celebrate their 25th anniversary. But their plans didn’t call for literally bringing the house down."

There were a lot of things that were special for the Saints that year. This particular game wasn’t one of them, except for that little blaze that started at the top of the dome. The quarterbacks surely weren’t exactly the battle of the Hall of Famers. Steve Walsh faced off against a 49er team lead by Steve Bono.

The Saints were playing the 49ers at the time. The game was really a dud, although the Saints did win it by the score of 10-3. The only thing that  really stood out was the fire. Some people thought it was a good idea to have a fireworks show inside the Superdome. Well, let’s just say it didn’t exactly go that well.

The show went off without a glitch until late in the third quarter. While the Saints were getting ready to have Morten Andersen to come out and kick a field goal, some flames were spotted above by the big screens. Sparks from the fire dropped hundreds of feet to about the 40-yard line. Some unknown worker came running on the opposite end of the field with a blanket. Now the field was “lit” literally.

It gets better! The game was stopped as Ray Tufts (The 49ers assistant trainer) flew on the field with a cup of water to try to put the fire out. There were others that came in with Gatorade and another guy sprinting mightily with a mat. The whole incident played out live on TV as the buffonery continued on the field. There was also four firefighters that joined the crew. The funny thing was that the fire was really pretty small.

The game was delayed for almost 10 minutes. The five alarm fire that lasted maybe a minute or two, left a nice small little hole in the carpet. That memory was lodged in my brain forever. The only thing that can help somewhat comprehend how bizarre this was, is by looking at these pictures. 

There you go folks number #50. Next time we look at number #49.