METAIRIE, La. ? The New Orleans Saints are 4-0 as they head into their bye week.
LSU is 5-0 heading into its home showdown against No. 1 Florida.
And those who follow both are in constant euphoria, sent there by what is the best start for their teams anyone could imagine.
The best part? The fans aren't alone in the exuberance.
"The fact is, we're all excited because we know how much work has gone into this," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "We know the blood, sweat, the tears, the heartache of the last two years for us, and maybe for fans, for a long time."
The truth is the Saints are new to this thing called success. Since 1967, the first year New Orleans played professional football, the Saints have had a winning record (3-1 or 4-0) only eight times.
LSU, on the other hand, has been here before. The Tigers have two national titles this decade and for much of their history, have been major players on the SEC and national scene.
Saints Head Coach Sean Payton understands this.
"It's a fan base that is used to its football and certainly in the tradition that LSU has had in winning," Payton said. "We're trying to create that same tradition their fans are accustomed to.
How does he know about the LSU fan base? He spent this past Saturday watching No. 4 LSU down then-ranked Georgia 20-13 at a friend's house.
Needless to say, the experience was one he'll likely never forget.
"I sat there and observed and you talk about fans that are completely passionate about their team," Payton said. "As a coach, you always think that fans are going to periodically second-guess a call during the course of a game. You watch three and a half hours of a living room second-guess every call and I kind of just slumped in the corner and ate my cheese and crackers and then headed over to the hotel."
As for the Saints, early success hasn't always led to late-season joy. Of the eight times New Orleans has started 3-1 or 4-0, only four teams made it to the end of the year with an above-.500 record. But of the eight teams that started fast, five teams won their fifth game. Three of those squads won at least the next three games.
While Saints fans might have had an inkling that something special was on the horizon heading into this season, inside the locker room, there was more than a hunch.
"I think there was a confidence level where we were going to be a better football team and fortunately after four weeks, we are improved," Payton said, "but I think the one thing about this team is that they're motivated and I think they'll be very unsatisfied after a day or two and ready to get onto the next week's game."
He added, "That's a good trait to have."
In the very least, Brees said the players are doing the best to give the fans something to cheer about on a weekly basis.
"For us, we enjoy it for 24 hours and then we move on to the next game because we want another big victory that next weekend so the fans can have another week," Brees said. "But we love our fans, we love the passion they have for our team and we want to give them a winner, we want to give them a championship."
