News
Saints' victory inspires Rangers manager
Washington soaks in New Orleans' Super Bowl win over Indy
By Mark Newman / MLB.com
02/08/10 5:26 PM EST
Every time Rangers manager Ron Washington answered the phone throughout the Super Bowl on Sunday night, he would greet the caller with two simple words: "Who Dat!""We pulled it off," Washington said after the Saints' 31-17 triumph over the favored Colts, with the background commotion loud at his sister Lorraine's house in New Orleans. There was pure civic love in his voice. "I tell you what, New Orleans is a world champion now."
The party is on in New Orleans, and Washington is feeling the joy personally.
Washington was born and raised in New Orleans. He had seven feet of water in his home after Hurricane Katrina, and he stayed while most of his family members relocated to Houston.
As Washington spoke to MLB.com throughout the game from Lorraine's home, Bourbon Street was increasingly jam-packed. Tracy Porter had just taken an interception of Peyton Manning 74 yards into the end zone, starting the party and effectively ending the winter reign of football and transitioning to baseball once more.
"I think everything that this city's been through, since Katrina came up here and changed everyone's life, the Saints are all they had to hold on to," Washington said. "The city of New Orleans has been supporting the Saints for a lot of years, and now to finally get the championship under their belt is a blessing. This year has been special for this team and for a city that has been trying to get itself together after Katrina. No one can understand the devastation until you've had to pull yourself together from something like that.
"We all were touched by it. One of my sisters didn't come back. Her home got destroyed, she had an opportunity to rebuild like I did, and she decided when she went to Houston to just stay. Our whole family is there. It's just myself, a brother and a sister that's back in New Orleans. The people here, they are certainly going to have a good time. Through all the bad times -- and there were many -- the people here supported their football team. They love their football team."
Washington is taking stock of this one, soaking it in, the good kind of soaking it in this time. He leaves Friday for Dallas, and then from there leaves on Sunday for Spring Training camp in Surprise, Ariz. He has a message, a new message to bring to a Rangers team that is one of only three active clubs never to reach a World Series. He just saw the pinnacle moment for a sports franchise that never had sniffed its own pro sports championship event. It can happen.
"The things that my young players went through this year, we stayed in the hunt all the way to the end, I think it's going to make us better for it because we have talent," Washington said. "We realized what it takes. If we stay healthy, I do believe we can surprise some people. The message that we've been sending since the winter started, it's our time. We brought the Angels to almost the last few games of the season, and all we've been talking about all winter is: It's our turn. It's time for the Texas Rangers. Now we just go out and play better baseball than everyone else on this day."
Don't expect to see Washington elbow-to-elbow with the denizens of Bourbon Street this week, though.
"I can't put up with that crowd, but I know the city will be lit up. You can believe that," he said. "There will be a lot of horns. It's already Mardi Gras time, you know? But I tell you what, the city needs it. It needs it, it needs it. It's something to be happy about."
Mark Newman is enterprise editor of MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
