Commentary: Weekend business trip to Philly is not a lot of fun for

New Orleans CityBusiness, Dec 1, 2003 by Terry O'Connor

Taking a weekend business trip is usually not a lot of fun. Especially going to Philadelphia.

But it is interesting if you're traveling with the New Orleans Saints on their way to a critical game against the Eagles. Everyone knows the Philly game ended in 33-20 loss for the Saints but it wasn't for lack of preparation or intensity. Here's a quick rundown on how the trip came together:

10:45 a.m. Saturday -- Arrive at Saints facility on Airline Drive.

11 a.m. -- Quick chalk talk and tour of indoor facility for the non-athletes accompanying the team. Would have liked to have heard Coach Jim Haslett's morning talk but, hey, I was lucky to be invited at all.

11:30 a.m. -- The team fills four buses and heads for the airport. The accompanying group boards the fifth bus first and heads to the airport last. This is the way it works when you travel with the pros.

Noon -- A police escort whisks the buses through traffic. Good idea with that much gold on board.

1 p.m. -- Delta Airlines charter flight No. 9850 is supposed to depart for Philadelphia.

2:20 p.m. -- We actually take off. Something about a bad luggage loader.

2:21 p.m. -- The in-flight movie chosen by the team is Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. It opens with the line: Your destiny is not yet written. The Saints are in that same place playoff-wise.

2:24 p.m. -- Started eating like a linebacker.

3 p.m. -- Pilot tells us LSU is up 7-3 on Mississippi. Michigan's rout of Ohio State means the Tigers are closer to a national title shot. I wonder what Ole Miss grad Deuce McAlister thinks of that.

5:10 p.m. -- Bus over to the Hyatt Regency in downtown Philadelphia where a smattering of onlookers and well wishers greet the Saints. Watch LSU finish its heart-stopping 17-14 win over Ole Miss. I wonder what Ole Miss grad Deuce McAlister thinks of that.

8 p.m. -- Walk through downtown Philadelphia with a group of front- office types. To a man, they say the Saints are ready and focused.

8:30 p.m. -- A fabulous crab cake is my dinner fate at Novelty Restaurant where we debate energy policy, dinner wines, LSU's chances and what lies ahead for the Saints.

11 p.m. -- Watch the end of Auburn's Iron Bowl win over Alabama and collapse under the weight of all the food I'd eaten all day.

Sunday -- Get up at 7 a.m. thinking Game Day, Game Day, Game Day. Wonder what Deuce McAlister thinks about Philly's new Lincoln Financial Field, which seats about 65,350.

8 to 10 a.m. -- Stroll around downtown and riverside Philadelphia in the brisk 50-degree morning air marveling at the historic buildings and maritime monuments on the Delaware River. Read the Philadelphia Inquirer in its entirety. The paper is pretty sure Philly will beat New Orleans but they wonder what Deuce will do. Me, too.

11 a.m. -- Bus departs for the game. Saints are all business. Front-office guys to a man say the Saints are really ready.

11:30 a.m. -- Arrive at the new field, which has wide access that allows the capacity crowd to roam the facility without being caught in a crush anywhere. Philly cheesesteak is good.

11:45 a.m. -- Walking around in pregame on the field is fun but it wears off quickly for someone who covered pro, college and high school sports for a decade. I roam the stadium fielding insults from Philly Fan for my Saints cap.

12:32 p.m. -- Mickey Loomis, Saints player personnel director, is nervously awaiting kickoff in the team suite. He makes very small talk for a few moments then heads off with an Eagles security escort.

1 p.m. -- Eagles have won the coin toss and want the ball. They drive for a 3-0 lead they will never give up.

1:15 p.m. -- Saints seem poised to take their first lead when they fumble into the end zone and it's covered for a touchback. I wonder - - heck, I know -- what Deuce thinks about that.

2:37 p.m. -- Saints rally from a 17-0 deficit to within 23-14 and are lining up to kick a field goal. It's blocked. Even though the Saints outplayed the Eagles in many ways, this last turnover pretty much seals the deal.

5:37 p.m. -- Saints front-office personnel are torturing themselves by listening to Saints Fan piling on the team in the postgame talk shows.

Bad move. Saints Fan is not happy.

Why are Saints fans so negative? one front-office guy wonders. Thirty-seven years of losing, is the answer.

But we're so close (to winning) now, he said.

It's true enough, but not enough for Saints Fan.

5:46 p.m. -- Connie Kowal, Saints senior director of marketing and business development, starts mapping out loud a list of teams that need to lose for the Saints to make the playoffs. It's not a short list.

6:17 p.m. -- Board plane for quiet ride home. Successfully avoid eye contact with Coach Jim Haslett or any other Saint.

6:40 p.m. -- Start watching The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Deuce belongs right in there with those guys.

8:18 p.m. -- Bus from plane arrives back at Saints facility where a handful of cars await.

It wasn't a successful business trip for the Saints. They played hard, tried to overcome bad breaks and just couldn't get it done. It was a tough business trip. But anybody who says they don't care is just plain wrong. Just ask the front office. Or Deuce.