ROUSES_Fall2023_Magazine

Courtesy NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The Advocate

distraught Saints fans in the audience with their Schwegmann’s grocery store attire adorned with eyeholes, beads and pithy messages to the team. Today, distressed fans from every losing franchise have since adopted the tradition. His uncompromising attitude sometimes led to a misconception that Buddy D hated the Saints. And because of how withering (and accurate) his criticisms could be, Saints

management even kicked him off the team plane. The ban wasn’t for a single season, though — it was for life, plus 10 years “in case you are Lazarus,” said management. Diliberto took it in stride. He was just doing his job. “For journalists back then,” says Smith, “you were never supposed to be a fan. Buddy would never wear Saints gear. Ever. They

front office and coaching staff ran the team, and of a great many plays called on the field. (My mom once quipped that the Saints could win the Super Bowl and Buddy D would still spend half his show criticizing some play in the second quarter.) Forget reporting live from the Superdome. On television, Buddy D sometimes reported on the Saints from funeral homes and cemeteries, arguing that the interred were more alive than the New Orleans team. During the 1980 season, he wore a paper bag over his head on the air to maintain anonymity as a Saints fan, and vowed to do so until the “Aints” — which he helpfully printed on the bag — won a game. They finally did, in December, going 1-15 for the season. The paper bag tradition caught fire, with Monday Night Football viewers from across the country noticing the

During the 1980 season, he wore a paper bag over his head on the air to maintain anonymity as a Saints fan, and vowed to do so until the “Aints” — which he helpfully printed on the bag — won a game.

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