OK, let’s be honest for a minute. If someone had said at the beginning of the NFL season the New Orleans Saints would win 13 games in 2009, how many Saints fans would have even believed it?

Now fast forward to the end of the season. Thanks to a high-powered offense and opportunistic defense, the Saints finish with a 13-3 mark and have secured the number one seed in the NFC playoffs. But a distinct layer of doubt and despair overshadows the joy fans should be feeling because of three straight losses at the end of the 2009 campaign.

The media attention has all but vanished, and fans are beginning to slowly lose hope that our heroes in black and gold will even win another game, let alone advance to Super Bowl XLIV. The time has come for this negative attitude to change.

The Saints team we have before us – the one that has seemed to bog down toward the end of the year – is the very same team that garnered record levels of excitement by dismantling several strong NFL teams. There is no reason for this excitement to wane simply because of a few late season slip ups.

A simple glance over some key statistics should show that fans have nothing to worry about. The Saints finished at the top of the league in offense (403 yards per game) and scoring with more than 500 points scored. No other team even comes close.

The Saints rank near the top in interceptions and takeaways. The team has also taken the ball away 11 more times than they have given it up, which is good for third in the league.

The Saints have some of the loudest and most loyal fans in the league. Fans that have come together in astounding numbers to watch the team play. Fans that rattle the Dome with high-decibel screaming. Fans that buy merchandise quicker than retailers can set it out for sale. Fans that stand out in the elements, in the middle of the night, to welcome the team home, win or lose. The team and its fans have a unique relationship that few organizations can rival, so don’t back down when the team needs its fans the most.

This is the year fans have waited for since the inception of the Saints back on Nov. 1, 1967. The team is truly on the brink of something special. Something that can unite an entire community as one strong base – male, female, black, white, whatever.

Stand tall Saints fans. Our ride is not over yet – it’s simply just beginning. WHO DAT!!