The Aints

            With the current version of the New Orleans Saints season spiraling out of control, (1-4, they can still do this!) let’s look back at the team that inspired the “Aints” nickname that may soon be reappearing at the Superdome, perhaps as soon as this Thursday against Atlanta.

He wasn't the best quarterback, but he was the best Saints quarterback. 

            The term “Aints” was born out of the disastrous 1980 season where the Saints went 1-15. The Saints had entered the season with playoff aspirations after finishing 8-8 in the NFC West in 1979, a game behind the L.A. Rams. That season New Orleans scored the 6^th most points in the NFL. Quarterback Archie Manning completed 60% of his passes (252/400) and had 15 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions. Manning’s numbers were not great, but still represented a massive improvement over Saints QBs prior to his arrival in the Big Easy. Running back Chuck Muncie ran for 1198 yards and 11 touchdowns. He averaged an impressive five yards per carry. Wide receiver Wes Chandler caught 65 passes for 1069 yards and six TDs. Head coach Dick Nolan had led the San Francisco 49ers from 1968-1975, winning three straight division titles. Under his watch in New Orleans, the Saints had improved from 6-10 in 1977 to 7-9 in 1978 and 8-8 in 1979. Media and fan speculation had the Saints primed for a breakout year.

This was a thing for a while. 

            49ers kicker Ray Wersching kicked the game winning field goal near the end of regulation to hand the Saints a 26-23 defeat in Week 1. Manning played well in that game going 25-40 for 314 yards and a touchdown. Muncie ran the ball 12 times for 57 yards and a touchdown. The next week the Chicago Bears bullied Manning into 2 INTs and trampled the Saints 22-3. And that’s when the losses started to pile up. Nolan’s Saints lost close games (21-16 against Miami in Week 4) and blowouts (40-7 against the St. Louis Cardinals in Week 5). They lost games when they scored over 30 points (45-31 to the L.A. Rams, Week 9) and less than 10 (27-7, also the L.A. Rams, Week 12). After the Week 12 loss sent the Saints to 0-12, owner John Mecom fired Nolan and replaced him with Dick Stanfel. The change did little to re-energize the team. The low point of the season came in a Week 14 loss to San Francisco where the Saints jumped out to a 35-7 lead at halftime. In the second half, however, 49ers quarterback Joe Montana lead a furious comeback and San Francisco won the game in overtime, 38-35. The Saints’ lone win of the season came in Week 15 when they defeated the Jets at Shea Stadium. With 20 mph winds and a starting game temperature below freezing, Manning strung together enough passes to lead the Saints to a 21-20 win. They would lose the next week to the New England Patriots finishing the season at 1-15.

The 1999 Aints. 

             As the Saints season drifted further and further into despair, New Orleans fans, as inventive a fan base out there, came up with their own remedy. They began to show up at home games wearing paper bags over their heads with eyeholes cut out. They scribbled messages across the bags with sayings like the “Aints”—a play on the team’s name and legacy of futility. The bags remained a recurring feature for the team throughout the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s. After the Saints Super Bowl victory in January 2010 there was a movement to retire the “Aints” moniker. While that optimism may have lasted for a few years, the Saints play this season has led New Orleans fans to head back to their garbage bins with a trusty pair of scissors. Mostly because it seems like the Aints are marching in … again.