This Saints season brought more uncertainty than most, starting with whether we would even get one during the coronavirus crisis. But when it actually began I knew one thing for sure: The day after each game, I would eat red beans and rice while reading the sports page.
This was the second season I pursued this ritual around New Orleans restaurants, and like last year I tried a different spot each time, and got the rewards of seeking comfort food outside the familiar places. I hit old-school diners, Creole Italian classics, energetic newcomers to the scene, and under the radar joints.
There was a lot of takeout, but that’s not unusual for red beans. Even in normal times, some of the best red beans and rice come from kitchens with threadbare amenities that put all the heart and soul into the pot.
As the season progressed, win or lose, what came into focus was gratitude simply for the structure of the season.
Even when our team didn’t always bring its A game, there still was a game. There was something to anticipate and to talk about besides all that these times were taking away from us. And for me, the day after brought something to enhance an enduring New Orleans food tradition.
One thing I love about being a Saints fan is the way the whole city feels it together, how it connects people around the community and across generations. Our food traditions do that too, and few are as durable, adaptable and accessible as red beans and rice.
I wish we’d won more games, of course, and especially this last one. But if the past season taught me anything, it’s to take good times on any terms you get them and to appreciate the way little things can keep us going.
Sometimes, that comes down to Monday lunch and gratitude for the way living in this town makes a plate of red beans feel like a celebration.
