NEW ORLEANS — As fans got their first impression of the new lineup, they're also seeing some of the renovations at the Superdome. And with the record heat this week, it was also the hottest day to tailgate that anyone can remember.
Mid-August, and the Saints preseason opener gives Who Dats something else to get nervous about, like yet another last minute nail biter and score, rather than back to school jitters, or the peak of hurricane season. August is time for some opposing side trash talking between Saints and Chiefs fans.
And August is the time for Super Bowl visions dancing in our heads.
“I think the season going to be amazing. It's going to be a great season with the new players Jimmy Graham coming back. It's Michael Thomas,” said a fan.
“Winston, Mathieu, Graham. It's gonna be great. Who Dat! I loved it. I loved everything about today,” said another fan leaving the game.
A little boy who went to the game said the team will be good this year and he liked seeing an interception.
And some fans also liked what they saw off of the gridiron. It was their first time seeing the new renovations:
“Oh, I don't' have to go so far no more for anything,” a long-time season ticket holder laughed. "Beer, beer, but what they've done so far is fantastic. It is good.”
“The aisles are bigger than Canal Street. The drink places, the drinks were wonderful. The lounges were wonderful, and the bathrooms, I didn't have to wait one second,” said a woman who has been going to games for many years.
“The food was great. Everything was great. I liked the hotdogs. I liked the jambalaya. I liked the roast beef. I liked the drinks. I liked the margaritas. I liked the Bloody Marys. I liked it all.”
“The concourse is way wider than it was. So, you can easily walk through the concourse,” said a young woman.
And while some fans got a little lost, or missed having cash concessions, or missed former clubrooms, everyone could agree on one indisputable fact. This is not tailgating weather.
“It is hot, very hot,” said a fan who didn’t want to tailgate.
“It's always too hot out here,” said a mother with two little children.
“I tailgated at the house. I tailgated at the house,” one man reiterated about not wanting to party out in the record heat.
“You're either built for it, or you're not. NOLA baby, come on now. When you're from Louisiana, this is nothing,” said two men about being used to the heat.
Now we all know preseason games don't count. They're just a scrimmage, and not everyone plays who is on the first string, but one woman says she doesn't care. Preseason games are lagniappe and she wants to win every single one of them.
The Superdome is up against a hard deadline from the NFL, to complete all of the work by next August .
This is the third of four phases in the half-billion-dollar renovation.
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