Who Dat?

Let's just admit it: No one is focusing on work today. Not with the Dome set to explode at 7:30 tonight. So why fight temptation? Today is all about the Saints.

Last year Rene and I wrote a feature for offBeat on the food options at the Dome, and our shocking conclusion was that Dome food just ain't that great. Still, 3 hours is a long time to go without any food, especially if you are imbibing your fair share of Dome Foam. So you have to eat something. Our question to you is this: What are you eating at the Saints game?

Personally, I rarely ever eat at the Dome other than a bag of peanuts. However, that was not always the case. I was lucky enough to attend every Saints home game from the age of 6 until I left for college, and during those years what I ate at the game was just as important as the score at the end of the 4th quarter. The menu changed with every home game, but the 3rd quarter always ended with a Dove bar from the cart conveniently located at the entrance to my section on the terrace. I loved those things.

And I know that I'm not alone in my Dome rituals. Here is a look at a few of the characters who I've gone cha-ching with over the years.

• Mr. Joe - He was a friend of my uncle's who sat with us at every Saints game for probably 15 years. Mr. Joe had high blood pressure, so his wife insisted that he take along a bag of unsalted popcorn for him to munch on during the game. He never seemed to view this as an act of deprivation, but I always thought it was terribly mean of his wife to try to stop him from enjoying a Dome dog.
• Podnuh - For as long as I can remember, the same group of 4 guys sat in the row behind us in the terrace. I could never remember their names, but the one who sat on the aisle always called everyone "Podnuh." These were true fans: they knew every player's name, knew what the penalty would be as soon as the flag was thrown, and knew exactly what Jim Mora was doing wrong. They also knew how to eat. Podnuh was a smuggler like Mr. Joe, except instead of bland popcorn it was pork chops and turkey legs eaten straight off the bone. It was always a treat to see what appeared from beneath that foil wrapper tucked under his jacket.
• The Pope - How could this list not be complete without La Papa? During high school he appointed himself "President of the Nacho Club" and had all of the concession prices committed to memory. If you sat with The Pope, you could only get up for food when he did and were forbidden from even asking for a few of his peanuts. He has since become "kind of a big deal" and now often sits in a suite. But if you need to know how much an order of chicken tenders and a bloody mary costs, he's still the person to call.