MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Hewes, Gollott, Thames, Morgan, Posey, Dearing, King, Moffatt, Burton, Tollison, Albritton, Chaney, White, Dawkins, Michel, Horhn, Walley, Kirby, Robertson, Mettetal, Carmichael, Pickering, Davis, Chassaniol, Jackson (15th), Brown, Walls, Cuevas, Frazier, Clarke, Lee (47th), Thomas, Simmons, Lee (35th), Butler, Wilemon, Jordan, Ross, Flowers, Jackson (32nd), Hyde-Smith, Nunnelee, Turner, Little
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS FOR THEIR REMARKABLE 2006-2007 SEASON.
WHEREAS, the remarkable 2006-2007 season of the New Orleans Saints began at summer training camp in Jackson, Mississippi, a few blocks from I-55, held on the Millsaps Campus, in the brutal, suffocating heat and humidity of the Mississippi summer; and
WHEREAS, the season ended on Sunday, January 21, 2007, at Soldier Field, a few blocks from I-55, near the shores of Lake Michigan, in the bitter Chicago cold and snow when the Chicago Bears defeated the Saints 39-14; and
WHEREAS, in between these dates, the Saints amazed and thrilled its Mississippi fans and brought some measure of relief to the people of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf South region, including the Mississippi Gulf Coast; and
WHEREAS, the New Orleans Saints, winners of only three games in 2005, showed the football world that anything was possible by winning its Division and its first-round divisional play-off game against the Philadelphia Eagles; and
WHEREAS, a magical season and wonderful ride for Mississippi Saints' fans came to a halt in Chicago as the loss to the Bears in the NFC Championship was a truly bitter end to what was a fantastic season for the City of New Orleans and its fans, with the Saints coming up one game short of the Super Bowl; and
WHEREAS, despite trailing 16-0 early in the game, the Saints rallied with two touchdown passes from Quarterback Drew Brees, to make the score 16-14 in the third quarter, after which mistakes took the game away from the visiting Saints; and
WHEREAS, this accomplishment was by a team that until this year had won only one playoff game in 39 previous seasons. A rookie Head Coach Sean Payton took three prominent rookies on offense, with 10 new starters and 27 new players, and moved the team to within one victory of the Super Bowl. This accomplishment came one season removed from not only a 3-13 season, but from a season during which the team had to evacuate not only the city, but the region, due to the worst natural disaster in United States history; and
WHEREAS, this remarkable season came in a year when the starting quarterback was recovering from shoulder surgery; the star running back (Mississippi native Deuce McAlister from Ole Miss) was recovering from knee surgery, the team's two best receivers missed much of the season; the tight end was lost for the season, and the defense was a no-name group; and
WHEREAS, "It's been a special season for us," Saints running back Deuce McAllister said. Not only is Deuce a hero to the Saints, he has assisted in jump-starting the local Mississippi economy by contracting to spend $55 Million along with Watkins Partners and HRI Inc., of New Orleans to refurbish the century-old King Edward Hotel, and by the expansion of two automobile dealerships; and
WHEREAS, Coach Sean Payton said "The hurt of this defeat will eventually go away, but there is a lot of pain in our city that isn't going away anytime soon." He was talking about the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but he could have been talking about his young football team. For 40 years the all-too-familiar Saints refrain has been "Wait till Next Year," and this time the Saints can say it and mean it:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate the New Orleans Saints Football Team and NFL Coach of the Year Sean Payton for their remarkable 2006-2007 season, and extend to them the best wishes of the Legislature and our invitation to return to Mississippi in August 2007 for Saints Training Camp and the beginning of another remarkable season.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Deuce McAlister for the New Orleans Saints and be transmitted to the corporate headquarters of the Saints and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.