We're well into five months of coronavirus-caused
quarantining, and many sports leagues and events remain out of commission or
delayed. The situation with professional athletic entertainment seems to be
being decided on an ad hoc basis, as
officials representing basketball, football, etc. formulate their responses.
Maybe just in time, then, Buffa's Bar
& Restaurant announced that they will begin screening historic Saints'
games.
Buffa's, located just beyond the French Quarter, will be
filling the gap left by the NFL preseason, which the League has cancelled due
to COVID-19. After months of tedium, people will finally have something to
chatter about around the water cooler (or the Zoom screen) again. The game screenings
will begin this Thursday, August 6, and continue for six weeks, until the
Saints' season opener on September 13.
Whether you're a Saints fan from way back when—and the
history is old hat for you—or new to the fandom and catching up, the Buffa's
viewings will have something for you. They'll begin on Thursday with the '87
Saints-Steelers game, the final link in the chain that clenched New Orleans's
first winning season. That vintage Saints' victory took place in Pittsburgh in
the blistering cold of late November in the Middle Atlantic. Without giving too
much away, the Saints' achievement came after an absolute nail-biter.
They'll follow this game with the team's first playoff win
against the Rams in 2000. This bit of retro Saint's history was also one where
the Saints got away with it by the skin of their teeth. It happened a day
before New Year's Eve, right here in New Orleans at the Superdome.
At the final screening, they'll show the 2010 Super Bowl
game. This is the one that even the lay person couldn't possibly forget.
Following the trauma of Hurricane Katrina, the Saints' road to the Super Bowl
that year marked one of the most memorable, emotionally charged storylines in
the history of sports—a victory to give the "Miracle on Ice" at Lake Placid or
the Cubs' 2016 World Series title a run for their money.
Buffa's will be screening a classic Saints' game every
Thursday between now and the regular season, making six games in all. The other
three have yet to be determined. Each one will begin at 6 p.m. Buffa's accepts
reservations via phone and OpenTable, so you might want to make one, since they
are currently observing a 20-person maximum capacity rule.
