I am just as disappointed as many of you. The entire New Orleans Saints’ fan base is currently in a tizzy. In football, the announcement of a possible bounty scandal is as close to “shock and awe” as you get in football. In the coming days accusations will be made, individuals will sing to save their careers, and a team who earned the love and adoration of a nation will be the black sheep.

Whatever the final results of the investigation into the actions of the leadership and the players of the New Orleans Saints turns out to be, there is no excuse for any sort of a program based on injuring players. However, my only hope is that a full investigation is done of all NFL teams because this is surely not an isolated issue.

However, as is often the case in America, as soon as there is a scapegoat the entire world focuses on that one person/organization and blames them for all the evils in the world. As these events unfold, the clamor to punish the Saints will grow to an almost deafening pitch as the other teams’ coaches and players attempt to keep the spotlight focused on the Saints to keep the NFL from peeking behind the curtains of every franchise.

Besides the disgusting details of a team paying their players to physically hurt members of the opposing team, the most disheartening thing about the whole situation is the fact that the New Orleans Saints were more than a football team to our region. They represent the spirit, energy and fortitude of the people of South Louisiana.

Let’s hope the league will conduct a fair investigation into all teams so that this bounty system is ended everywhere.

The last bite…

Sunday, Courtney and I were enjoying bloody marys at Mia’s Balcony on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans when the lead singers of The Yat Pack joined us! The food at Mia’s was perfectly prepared. The hummus was fresh, and Courtney’s Portobello Pizza was loaded with feta cheese and roasted tomatoes. I give wine and laughs with old friends 5 out of 5 crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.