By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The New Orleans Saints may have lost their opening game against the Green Bay Packers Thursday, but that will not stop a large portion of the local population from donning their black-and-gold jerseys next weekend when the Saints take on the Chicago Bears. Such is the nature of the Who Dat Nation.

And now the youngest Saints fans around have a new bedtime story, courtesy of LaPlace native and St. Charles Catholic graduate Tom Weber.

Weber’s book, “My First Who Dat Story,” will be hitting bookstore shelves Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Weber, a physical therapist by profession, became a published children’s author almost by accident.

“I wanted to look for a Saints book for my kids after the Saints won the Super Bowl, and I couldn’t find any,” he said.

So rather than just settling for what was already out there, Weber, the father of three boys, Jacob, Kaleb and Alex, began creating his own children’s tale.

“I just decided to see how it would come out,” he said.

Although it concentrates on the Saints’ seasons since returning to the Super Dome after Hurricane Katrina, Weber’s book also gives those Saints fans too young to remember a glimpse of life back when people wore bags on their heads at the Super Dome and referred to their hometown squad as the “Ain’ts.”

“I’ve been a Saints fan my whole life,” said Weber. “I wanted something to kind of preserve the memory for my kids, too.”

What’s more, by including the not-so-good years, Weber has injected his story with the kind of moral nearly always present in children’s literature — the value of sticking with something.

“I think the struggle just made it that much more special,” said Weber.

But children who read or are read the book will likely not even notice the moral because of the simple, colorful artwork and sing-song rhymes.

Weber began composing the book about three months after the Saints won the Super Bowl. He said creating the artwork came somewhat easily to him but creating the verse took a bit more time.

Now that he got his feet wet, however, Weber is looking at creating more children’s books about local sports teams, especially the LSU Tigers. Having found a publisher in Mascot Books makes the proposition that much more enticing.

“I am into it. I really enjoyed this,” said Weber, who said he loves reading his book with his children. “I’m not ready to give up my day job, but it was fun.”

For more information on Weber’s book or for information on how to obtain a copy, visit www.mascotbooks.com or www.tomweberbooks.com.