SAINTS INSPIRE, AND PLAY.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS IN HAMILTON
It was a giant Venn Diagram when a small contingent of New Orleans Saints descended upon Hamilton Mountain Saturday morning.
There were connections everywhere, most of them revolving around former Hamilton Tiger-Cat Delvin Breaux, now the starting cornerback for the NFL Saints, and all of them spelling out one word: ho-m-e.
“My wife (Kasey) and I used to stay on the mountain when we lived here,” Breaux said prior to helping lead the NFL’s Play 60 program at St. Thomas More for players and families involved in the Hamilton Mighty Football Factory.
“Just coming up here means a lot. It feels like home. I was telling the guys in the car, ‘Let me out, let me out’ when we got here. This is my old stomping grounds.
“It’s about reconnecting. I’ve been telling guys about not burning bridges. To come out here and feel the love and the support here is pretty cool.”
Breaux grew up in New Orleans and even signed his letter of intent to play at LSU at the Saints practice facility. But then he broke his neck playing high school ball, had to sit out his entire college eligibility years, and played a little indoor football before landing with the Tiger-Cats in 2013. He quickly became a CFL star, made the league all-star team in his second season, and was signed by his hometown Saints.
In his first NFL season he drew a lot attention for shutting down many of the league’s top receivers, but broke his fibula in the first game of 2016, recovered to play six games, then injured his shoulder and missed the remainder of the season.
“The shoulder is great, man,” said Breaux, who reestablished himself during the Saints spring Optional Team Activities. “I didn’t get down with the injuries. My thing is that God has a plan for everything, man. It’s given me an opportunity to get myself back together, get my pops, do a bunch of extra work. We’re ready to perform, and show them what they’ve been missing.”
Joining Breaux in Hamilton were running back Mike Ingram and defensive end Cam Jordan, both Pro Bowlers, and former returner/receiver Mike Lewis, who’s in the Saints Hall of Fame. Lewis, too, is from New Orleans and he didn’t crack the NFL until he was 29 years old. “When Delvin was in high school and I was playing for the Saints, my wife taught at his high school,” Lewis said. The local connections don’t end there.
Ingram, who won the Heisman Trophy at Alabama, is from Flint, Mich., and competed in the CANUSA Games (in golf) three times, twice in Hamilton.
“It was a lot better here than there,” he laughed. “I remember everything: families taking care of me, taking me to Toronto to see the CN Tower, to Niagara Falls. I wish I remembered the name of the families here. I’d love to get hold of them.
“Coming from where I was coming from,” Breaux said, “I’m very thankful to Hamilton for helping me. It just shows that you can make it if you never give up.”