The New Orleans Saints made the historic trip to Paris but put forth an embarrassing display. However, the former seems to mean much more to Gayle Benson in her letter to Saints fans. After the intensity she had prior to the game, her tone should have fans disappointed and skeptical.
It’s one thing to commemorate the moment. For as poorly as the Saints played against the Steelers, this is still a massive moment for the franchise that is okay to highlight. Benson mostly spoke on the off the field experience for the fan and team in her letter, but two specific sentences is where she went wrong.
While the outcome on the field was not what we had hoped for, we have much to be proud of from our time together. We represented the New Orleans Saints, our beloved city and the entire state of Louisiana with class and pride on an international stage.
Gayle Benson seemingly easing up means more security for Kellen Moore and Mickey Loomis
The second sentence could be related to the fans, but the preceding sentence makes it appear to be related to the team. If that was the case, Benson couldn’t be more wrong. The team didn’t represent themselves, the city or the state with pride in Paris.
This doesn’t sound like the same woman who placed such an urgency on Kellen Moore, Mickey Loomis and the game in Paris, specifically.
Benson sounded frustrated and fed up about the state of the franchise two weeks ago. There’s no way a win you nearly choked away was enough to appease Benson. If it did, she may not have ever been serious about making the changes necessary or holding anyone accountable.
Don’t expect Moore to be fired in the midst of the year, and honestly, there should be doubt if Benson will make moves at the end of the year. Her words should have put her in a corner, but there’s no one above Benson to force her to stay true to the sentiment of her words.
Benson said it's her job to hold people accountable, and now is time to wonder what does accountability look like. Does it look like a speech saying names or does it look actions? Talk is cheap, and surely billionaire Gayle Benson can afford to deliver on her words.
Saluting the team after this type of performance doesn't feel like accountability. It's complacency. This speech doused the flame and excitement Benson's ferocity sparked a couple of weeks ago.
The pride for the franchise having this wonderful moment is not the same as pride in how the team performed. They're two closely associated categories, but they do exist separately.
Saying the Saints represented themselves with pride feels like acceptance of where they currently stand. Unfortunately, it's the same place they stood a week ago, and that's in a state of flat out not being good enough.
The prior urgency felt like the wake up call the team needed. They haven't responded well, and now fans can't even feel confident that Benson will make changes if nothing changes.
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