Patron Saints: How the Saints Gave New Orleans a Reason to Believe [Hardcover]

ALAN DONNES (Author), Chris Myers (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2007

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, devastating not only buildings and homes, but the hope, spirit and faith of its people. The Saints were cast out on the road, not knowing when they would return home, and faltered to a losing 3-13 season amidst the chaos. People wondered whether the city could even sustain an NFL team anymore.

Then, a funny thing happened on the way to economic devastation. The city of New Orleans, its population cut in half and its local industry in tatters, rallied to buy up the first season-ticket sellout in franchise history. Led by coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees, coming off a near-career-ending shoulder injury, the Saints engineered a worst-to-first season that gave their fans a reason to believe, both in the team and in themselves. Together they inspired each other to do the impossible: put the Saints in the NFC Championship game, and put New Orleans on the road to recovery.

Though the Saints emerged from the NFC Championship with a stinging loss to Chicago, they returned home as true champions. In PATRON SAINTS, Saints reporter Alan Donnes has compiled over 100 interviews with the players, coaches, politicians and colorful locals who made it happen. Together, these powerful voices recount the fractious history of the team and the city, how the horror of Katrina brought them together, and how one winning season has brought hope to a place that hope forgot.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Donnes covered the Saints as a sports reporter from 1986-94, establishing the largest independent radio network in the NFL. He has managed former Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes, produced the nationally syndicated National Lampoon Radio Hour, and is currently filming a National Lampoon movie.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Center Street (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599950170
• ISBN-13: 978-1599950174
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,155,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In his first book, Alan Donnes tells a story he was born to tell. PATRON SAINTS recounts how the New Orleans Saints, lovable losers for forty years, helped New Orleans and her people begin the healing process after the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.

Donnes has had many amazing and colorful career turns including stints as a stand up comedian, boxing manager and movie producer. He even managed former Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes. His favorite, though, was as a sportcaster for his favorite team, the Saints. And although he has traveled the world, he has remained a true New Orleanian at heart. And so with a perfect combination of hometown boy and sports journalist, he tell this wonderful and inspiring story by blending views of his topic from every possible angle. PATRON SAINTS takes readers into the Saints' front office and locker room as well as into the highest levels of government, including interviews with two presidents. Readers also live through the horror of Katrina and the inspirational return to joy through the lives of fans who are inspired by the team. More importantly, you will be taken into the hearts and minds of the people who lived this amazing story. This unique truly tells the most spectacular sports story ever told.

PATRON SAINTS has been selected as official reading material and required reading in schools throughout Louisiana and in many parts of the United States, is being made into a major motion picture set to begin filming in the Dall of 2009 and has the honor of being enshrined in both the Pro Football and New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. It has been read and commented on by Presidents George HW Bush, George W Bush and Barack Obama, as well as Britain's Prince Charles. PATRON SAINTS was the best selling book in the UK during the Saints visit and game in 2008.

Alan has just completed post-production on National Lampoon's DIRTY MOVIE and will begin production on National Lampoon's SNATCHED in July 2009. He wrote, produced and appeared in both. He is also currently writing a book entitled SO YOU WANT TO BE A PRODUCER, a humorous recounting of DIRTY MOVIE's almost three year process as well as SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME, a book about his life with kidney failure and his search for an organ for transplant as well as a deeper meaning to life.

Alan Donnes divides his time between his homes in Connecticut and New Orleans. In January 2010 he will begin a 100 College Campus tour and plans to return to live performances of his comedy routine for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interestingly written, February 17, 2008

By 

M. Cardinale (N.O.,LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patron Saints: How the Saints Gave New Orleans a Reason to Believe (Hardcover)

This is more of a compilation than a novel. I bought this for my husband, who is not normally much of a reader, but he couldn't put this down. He read alot of it out loud to me, because he was so interested in the stories. I finally told him that I would read it myself when he was finished, which I did, and really enjoyed although I am not a football fan. Who couldn't be a fan that year? It tells the story from perspectives of all sides, and tells of the inspiration that came from unexpected places and inspired unexpected people.
This is definitely a must read for New Orleanians, who lived this, and understand what that Saints season meant to us. But also for others who weren't there and don't live here to understand why it meant so much.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Account, January 3, 2008

By 

Country Girl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patron Saints: How the Saints Gave New Orleans a Reason to Believe (Hardcover)

This book gives an amazing and accurate account of how the New Orleans Saints inspired and motivated the City of New Orleans and its surrounding parishes. As someone who went to that Monday night game against the Atlanta Falcons in the newly renovated Superdome, I cannot begin to describe the emotions I and many others experienced that night. Seeing the Saints run onto the field was my "Katrina moment." It was then that I knew things would be alright. The Superdome had always been a place to go to have fun. It was not that horrible place seen by so many people after Hurricane Katrina. To see the Saints return to the Dome turned a negative back into a positive for me. It was just one more step on the path back to normal.

That night my brother and I parked the car and began walking to the Dome. The walk took us through neighborhoods that had not yet been gutted. It took us past buildings that had water lines almost over my head. I thought about the people who walked that same path to the Dome after the hurricane hoping for refuge from the devastation. I got a lump in my throat and began to cry. This walk, however, was different. This walk was positive and determined. It was prideful, and it had purpose. We were walking to the Dome to bring it back and to bring our Saints back. Fans walking to the Dome were not just fans, we were family. We were family members from all over the New Orleans area who were brought together to welcome home a team many of us believed might never return. That night we were going to show the world that New Orleans - our home - would also return. We needed something to believe in. The Saints gave us that inspiration. We believed in them, and they seemed to believe in us. It was a powerful year.

Though I cannot even begin to describe the true emotions felt during that football season, this book does a great job. I loved reading how the players and coaches felt and how the team was just as inspired by us as we were of them. Just like a previous reviewer, I'd recommend this book to anyone who has ever pulled for the underdog. It's a remarkable read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Life "Rocky" Story. . ., September 10, 2007

By 

Patrick (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patron Saints: How the Saints Gave New Orleans a Reason to Believe (Hardcover)

Told through interviews with everyone from Quarterback Drew Brees to fans of the Saints who lived in New Orleans during the rebuilding of the city, Patron Saints covers one of the greatest, TRUE underdog stories in all of sports. The interviews with Saints players and coaches are fascinating, and provide a unique insight into what actually went on behind the scenes during the unlikely Cinderella season. But what truly makes this book special are the interviews with the fans; real people who convey how important this team was to the residents of post-Katrina New Orleans. Patron Saints gives the reader a "view from the gallery;" a chance to share in how the Saints' winning season was able to uplifit the spirits of an entire city where so much had gone wrong.

There are very few true sports stories this great (that of "Rudy" Reuttiger and the Marshall football program come to mind). But this book isn't just for Saints fans, or even football fans; it's for anyone who has ever rooted for the underdog.