Saints Remove N64 And Ping Pong Table From Locker Room To Focus On The Playoffs; Stick A Fork In The Saints

NO – A few fixtures in the New Orleans Saints locker room were missing this week. A table tennis set, a small basketball hoop and a Nintendo 64 console that players used to pass time between meetings and workouts were gone Wednesday as the Saints began to prepare for their NFC wild-card matchup with the Carolina Panthers. “It’s all gone,” said safety Vonn Bell. “That means preparation has got to kick up.” As the Saints prepare to face the Panthers for the third time this season, players and coaches have removed the games from the games from the locker room. “The coaches wanted a different level of focus, all the attention on what we got ahead of us,” Saints tackle Terron Armstead. “The playoffs is a heightened sense of urgency for everybody.” Saints linebacker Adam Bighill, who could often be found playing Super Smash Brothers on the Nintendo 64 with his teammates during down time, said the Saints recognize the magnitude of this game because the playoffs are “what you play for.” “It’s you win or you are done,” Bighill said. “We don’t want to have any garbage bags in this locker room. There’s no problem putting all the games aside and focusing up for this whole week and just being completely and utterly focused on winning. It’s a good thing. It’s a good feeling and a good vibe in the locker room.”

First thing’s first: If it ain’t broken, you don’t fix it. The Saints have elevated themselves to one of the most dangerous teams in the league. A squad I am very, very nervous for the Eagles to play in the Divisional round at the Linc if they beat the Panthers this week. Why switch things up by taking away their goodies in the locker room? You got an essence of team commadere off the field with the N64, ping pong, and mini-basketball hoop.

Get ready for one of your all time backfires by Sean Payton, and that includes allowing your DC give out bounties for decapitating players. You wanna get get a team ready to fire the week before the playoff game? Whip out the N64 or ping pong table. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING gets the juices flowing more than a wire to wire match of Super Smash Bros or table tennis. Video game competitiveness speaks for itself. There have been times I’ve seen red so bad I would’ve my own mother in a brash case of temporary insanity caused by a Madden loss. And table tennis is just as competitive. Riggs and I were playing an enjoyable game of ping pong a few weeks back at the bar and within 10 minutes it almost came to blows. Good times. I think.

But taking away one’s Nintendo 64 is a crime against humanity. Never rub another man’s rhubarb, and never take away his N64. The Saints should be taking notes from the 2016 Chicago Cubs. They whipped out an N64 and competed in Mario Kart before Game 7 of the World Series and BAM! Champions. A move, by the way, the Cubs did conveniently after a few Stoolies on the team got wind of Coley and I dabbling in The Race Of The Century – A MK64 Gaytona 500 For Tattoo’s And Legal Name Changes. Should Barstool take credit for the Cubs’ first championship since the Ottoman Empire was in existance? Just maybe, baby. Just maybe. What a night for America.