Home sweet Saints

It was the Saintliest, most well-behaved mob in town.

  More than two hours before Sunday's Saints-Dolphins kickoff at LSU's Tiger Stadium, hundreds of black-and-gold-clad New Orleans fans were clustered in one small nook of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

There were women wearing Saints-colored (black and gold) Mardi Gras beads. Men dressed as Saintly crusaders, with the fleur de lis sewn across their chests.

These people, you could tell, have been here before. Not here exactly, waiting to claim their season tickets in typically disorderly Tom Benson style, but here to see the Saints, their beloved hometown team.

The Saints' relocation, plus the split schedule between Baton Rouge and San Antonio, has been a logistical nightmare for the team. Many fans, such as Winston Hoffman of New Orleans, had given up trying to call the Saints' temporary San Antonio offices and opted to claim the tickets in person before Sunday's game.

Hoffman's life, as with most New Orleanians, has been anything but normal since Hurricane Katrina struck.

"It'll be a lot worse, though, if Benson announces he's moving the Saints," Hoffman said.

In the line in front of him, Ben Arendt and Leo Chicas were dressed in tunics adorned with the Saints logo.

"We're crusading," explained Arendt. He was one of the lucky ones. His New Orleans home near Tulane University was spared from the flooding that submerged much of Orleans Parish. Now he's worried about Hurricane Benson.

"He's just driving me crazy," Arendt said. "It's been very upsetting. We're here to support the team. We're willing to buy tickets to show that we want the team. We're not here, though, just to give our money to Benson."

Some of the season ticket holders had to wait in line for more than 90 minutes to claim tickets for the four games to be played in Baton Rouge.

"It's not that bad," said Ryan Guidry of Metairie, La. "We're just happy that we're getting to see the Saints play."