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Saturday, Feb. 06, 2010

Reaping his rewards: Robinson relishing Saints' magical run

One kick nearly left a grown man in tears.

One kick -- a 40-yard boot off the foot of Saints kicker Garrett Hartley in the NFC Championship game -- sent him racing around the living room, screaming so loud even the kids looked at him funny.

Blevin Robinson was afforded his moment of complete bliss. He was allowed to be a cheerleader.

No one judged the 35-year-old restoration technician. Not his wife or his in-laws.

After all, he's a New Orleans Saints fan, tried and true. He grew up in the shadows of the Superdome and stuck by his hometown team even when their chances of winning were as thin as paperbag veils.

And now, with Hartley's kick, with Drew Brees' arm and an opportunistic defense, the Aints are one win away from a Super Bowl championship.

So, yes, Robinson, a Merced resident, screamed. He hoot-and-hollered so loud those on Bourbon Street could hear him over the brass bands.

"Every time (the Saints) would score a touchdown, he'd be screaming at the top of his lungs," Lindsay, Blevin's wife, said.

"Even my sister laughs about it. I'd tell her, 'He's going to lose it. He can't control it much longer' When they kicked that field goal, he started running around the house.

"He erupted like a volcano. I thought of videotaping it and putting it on YouTube, so everyone could get a kick out of it."

The emotion was real.

Robinson was born and raised in West Bank, a suburb in the Greater New Orleans Area. He lived there for 30 years, and still has family and friends throughout the region.

He moved just a month before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, uprooting his life to head west to be with his new bride, Lindsay.

Distance, however, did little weaken to his bond with New Orleans and dem Saints.

"I get all the flack. 'It's just football. It's just a team.' For me, it's pretty big," Robinson said. "You don't think about New Orleans without thinking about the Saints, and vice versa. You can't think of the team without thinking of the city.

"It's a big deal for us. It's like having family, like having somebody you know back there.

"They're a huge part of the city. They do a lot for the community. For that team to go to the Super Bowl ... it's like having part of your family going."

Robinson won't be in Miami to cheer his beloved Saints against Peyton Manning and the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV this Sunday.

But like millions out there in HD land, he'll bring the game -- and the spectacle of the most-watched sporting event -- to his University Drive living room with a pigskin party.

There's just one catch: his might be the only authentic Louisiana party in the county.

Mardi Gras in Merced?

The Robinson family has gone to great lengths to commemorate the Saints' first trip to the Super Bowl.

Blevin special ordered a King Cake (with black and gold icing) from a bakery in New Orleans.

Normal party staples like chips and dip and chicken wings will be replaced with red beans and rice, gumbo and a seasoned crab boil.

Among his boil ingredients: shrimp, mushrooms and artichokes.

There will be festive plates, black and gold streamers hung from the ceiling and even some Colts paraphernalia.

Lindsay, after all, became an Indy fan shortly after their marriage.

"I don't know why. I just picked a team. Maybe it's because I like horses," she said. "Deep down, I want to cheer on the Colts but that's my husband."

So for one afternoon she'll wear a Deuce McAllister jersey.

As for Robinson, he'll be in his typical game-day garb and state of mind: Marques Colston jersey, lucky fleur-de-lis T-shirt underneath, tear ducts and vocal chords at the ready.

James Burns is sports editor of the Sun-Star. He can be reached at jburns@mercedsun-star.com.