As only lifetime New Orleans Saints fans can attest, maybe it was fitting my 4-year-old daughter Mallory’s and 6-year-old son Dominick’s first time to experience an in-person Saints game was last Sunday.

As everyone knows, the Saints seemingly won the game on the fourth quarter’s final play, only to have the winning touchdown reversed on a penalty before the home team eventually lost in overtime.

It was a heartbreaker, something Saints fans know all too well.

Such a reversal in sports fate has ruined my day (more like week) in years past. However, I’m trying to evolve from the days of profanity-laced tirades and into calm, measured fandom. Some say “fan” is simply short for “fanatic,” and if so, I resolve to be finished with being fanatical about anything involving entertainment.

The best part is I have Dominick, Mallory and Saints quarterback Luke McCown to thank for that.

Let’s back up to the beginning. The reason we were at the game was as a reward for Dominick, a first grader, who recently earned straight As. His reward was a Saints game and the ability to pick any food or souvenir he wanted.

As luck would have it, a long-ago connection allowed Dominick to meet one of the Saints thanks to my time as a student at Louisiana Tech University.

During my stint on the college newspaper staff, Tech was blessed with one of its most prolific quarterbacks, Luke McCown.

McCown eventually married my good friend and fellow school newspaper staffer, Katy, and I have watched with great joy as Luke and Katy’s family has grown to include six children. Now in his 11th professional season, it is cool to remember I was interviewing Luke back when we were both college students.

During Sunday’s football game, Dominick and I went through the gameday program that listed all the Saints players and provided a little background information on each.

When Dominick saw McCown attended Louisiana Tech, the same college as his mother and myself, he quickly made the connection.

I told him if the Saints won, he could meet McCown in person, which was sure to be a thrill for Dominick because at 6-feet, 4-inches tall, McCown looks more like one of the Avengers than someone the same age as his dad.

Our grand plans went up in smoke when some bad luck and a determined San Francisco 49ers team sent the Saints and their fans home on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

While exiting the stadium, I sent Katy a text letting her know not to worry about entertaining us postgame, because the mood was bound to be sour after such a tough loss.

She insisted we come by, promising Luke would still be happy to say hello to Dominick and congratulate him for making such good grades.

As we waited, Dominick made quick friends with two of Katy and Luke’s sons, the three of them playing Duck, Duck, Goose in one of the Superdome’s tunnels. My daughter eventually joined the boys, and the kids were never any happier.

Sure, Dominick was excited when Luke emerged with an NFL Salute to Service towel as a gift, but I think he was most excited just to get the chance to make friends with some boys around his age.

Seeing that moment play out and talking about all the fun and new things we had done that day on the ride home back to the River Region made it sink in for me that the gameday experience wasn’t about the final score, but the fact I enjoyed it with family and friends.

Stephen Hemelt is general manager and editor of L’OBSERVATEUR. He can be reached at 985-652-9545 or stephen.hemelt@lobservateur.com.