In a city like New Orleans, with roots so deep in the Catholic Church, it would come as no surprise to hear a priest include the Saints in his sermon or in a prayer.
But it may be a little surprising to find a church in Deerfield Beach, Florida having its congregation actively pulling for an out of town NFL team.
At St. Ambrose Church, Father Bryan Dalton has decided to try to get his congregation in the spirit of the Super Bowl and make the Saints his hometown favorite for Super Bowl XLIV.
“Well, they’ve basically been Dolphins fans, but we had to go for one team this year and a lot of people are pulling for New Orleans because of the problems they’ve had in the past,” said Dalton. “They’re the underdogs and most people are rooting for them.”
Dalton and his choir director rewrote the lyrics for “The Saints Go Marching In” and got the congregation to sing along last Sunday. The same thing happened at a special Mass attended by young schoolchildren Wednesday.
A sample of their work:
‘Oh When the Saints, go rushing in…
Oh When the Saints go rushing in…
They are bound to have Peyton’s Number…
For the Saints are going to win…
Oh When Drew Brees passes the ball…
Oh When Drew Brees passes the ball…
He will score a lot of touchdowns…
And the Saints will win it all…
Father Dalton said the congregation is pretty much behind him on this one and as their spiritual leader, it was only logical to make New Orleans their team.
“You can’t root against the Saints,” he emphasized. “Because I’m a Catholic priest I should be rooting for the Saints to pray for us everyday.”
And there’s another very good reason that Father Dalton is rooting for the Saints. His bishop is a New Orleans native.
“The last time I met him, I said, ‘They’ve got a shot,’ and he said ‘They sure have.’”
Dalton said the only thing that could have made him root against the Saints this time was if his Dolphins were playing against them in the Super Bowl.
That, he says, would have been a different ballgame. Right now, he says they are solidly behind the Saints.
