The Saints’ first preseason game brought the usual mix of heat, hope and hard-earned ritual to Poydras Street on Saturday, even before kickoff against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Outside the Superdome, fans gathered early in the kind of brutal weather that had a Superdome employee shouting, “Stay hydrated, 115 today folks," through a bullhorn near Champions Square. The heat index climbed above 100, and the conditions didn’t stop the faithful from showing up - they just changed the pace.
Hailey Moak, 40, posted up in the shade outside Walk On's Bar and Bistreaux with a nearly empty 24-ounce cup of Twisted Tea and a cigarette, looking toward the stadium and talking about what everyone was there to find out.
"We want to see what they are gonna do,” she said hours before game time. “That's what today is all about."
Moak said the group had already "won big" because her sister, who held the season pass, was out of town. That meant, as she put it, "the tickets were free" as the Saints 2026 pre-season got underway at home.
For a lot of fans, the biggest point of interest was second-year Saints quarterback Tyler Shough. Tyrone Snyder, 69, who hauled a dolly from his Toyota Sequoia and set a large Igloo ice chest on it along Poydras Street, didn’t hide his enthusiasm.
"I love Shough, I love him," Snyder said.
Snyder has spent the last five years selling cold drinks and water outside Saints games, and he had his own theory about the importance of August football.
"Pre-season games determine the regular season," he insisted.
The heat also sent some fans drifting toward vendors selling drinks and other game-day supplies. One young Saints fan in a jersey with rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson’s name on the back said he had to slow down after losing a Bud Light chug race to a friend.
"I'm not gonna lie, I gotta pace myself," he said.
Around the stadium, the scene had all the familiar noise and texture: heavy traffic, bucket drums, smoke from food trucks and vendors pushing black and gold necklaces, plus plenty of Drew Brees gear.
Brees, who led the Saints to the 2010 Super Bowl title, was a major talking point outside the gates after being inducted August 8 into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
EJ Fleetwood, 67, a first-time season ticket holder from Chalmette, showed up 30 minutes before the Champions Square gates opened wearing a Garrett Hartley jersey. He said he planned to bring out his Drew Brees gear in the regular season.
"He's got his superstitions," April Fleetwood, 52, a cafeteria manager at Chalmette high school, said of her husband.
Fleetwood also saw reason for optimism in the team’s direction.
"I think it's going to be very good. It's going to be building blocks, you can see it. You know, it might not be this year, but it's not that far away," he said.
Some longtime traditions, though, stayed on hold until the games count.
Eugene "Pop" Maurice and Donnatte Maurice usually leave their Violet home around 5 a.m. to head to "under the bridge," their tailgate spot beneath the highway overpass at Claiborne and Poydras. They’ve spent the last 15 to 20 years setting up there with red beans and rice, ribs, a large TV, a DJ, a porta-potty and, as Pop Maurice put it, a lot of good feelings.
But not for preseason.
"A lot of people aren't going to come" for pre-season, he said.
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Saints Quarterback Battle Just Took An Early Turn Behind Tyler Shough
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Saints Preseason Just Made Several Roster Battles Feel A Lot More Tense
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Some of the pressure has only grown with the way the Jaguars game unfolded, where the top of the depth chart and the back end of the roster both seemed to shift in real time. The Saints are still sorting through who belongs where, and the next few practices and preseason reps will matter just as much for players trying to lock down roles as they do for those trying to stay in the picture at all. [Read more 🡒]