Gambit gets a lot of press releases. Especially with the Saints season opener coming up, we get a lot of NFL related product pitches. For example, is this the snack chip that will make your game watching truly special? But check out this winner. (FYI, it is a media invite, not open to the public.) Apparently women love to clean and cook for their families. What could be more satisfying to a mom than having the men in her family watch NFL games in a “fresh’ environment. Wow, I heart traditional values.

The graphic makes a nod at suggesting that all this cleaning and cooking would be of interest not just to moms but to the whole family. The pitchman, Brian Cash (of MS&L Worldwide), was less PC in his email text (bold emphasis added):

“Febreze and the NFL are partnering for a second year to help moms across the country be “Game Day Ready.” With the help of the “First Lady of Football,” Olivia Manning, Febreze is getting moms ready by providing great home freshening tips and trick as well as game day recipes that the family will love. If you’re interested, Febreze and Olivia are hosting an event on September 9th to kickoff the season and the Febreze Game Day Freshness Tour. Below is the invitation, please let me know if you’d be interested in attending. Hope to hear from you soon!

Thanks,
Brian”

I did not know that Olivia Manning is the “First Lady of Football.” Or that she endorses “freshness.” But she’ll be there to share tips and recipes. I am sure a lot of women (reporters) would love the opportunity to take some hard-to-clean items down to this event and see how Olivia would tackle the challenge. Of course, some women might just like watching the Saints, or football. That’s good clean fun, too.

Pre-game festivities for the NFL season opener between the Saints and the Minnesota Vikings (7:30 p.m. Thur., Sept 9) include a Mardi Gras-style parade (with floats by Blaine Kern Studios) through the French Quarter and music by the Dave Matthews Band and Taylor Swift. The Krewe of NFL parade route starts at Esplanade and North Peters Street, proceeds along North Peters, merging on to Decatur and then back to North Peters, and then it feeds on to Tchoupitoulas Street and ends at Julia Street. The concert is at Jackson Square and the stage will be on the river side of Decatur Street facing the square. The parade however, is not a parade between Dumaine and Toulouse streets, says NOPD. For those blocks, it’s an event being orchestrated by NBC for its pregame broadcast (6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.). The staging is expected to intersperse songs, floats passing by the Jackson Square on-camera set and segments with Bob Costas. People who wish to be close to the stage can apply for tickets to be in the “casted audience.” An NFL spokesperson and the ticket website say tickets are first come, first serve. Also, access to Jackson Square will be restricted to ticket holders.

Don’t you worry your little heads, we absolutely haven’t. There are big plans afoot for the upcoming season and rest assured that we will be back with our unique take on all things Black and Gold. Take for instance this little nugget:

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Jagerbomb wireless in the Superdome…only in New Orleans. And it’s fitting, too, seeing as how the new press box is so high up you need a couple of jagerbombs to avoid the vertigo (aggressive drinking is what you do when you have vertigo, right?).

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Ooo-eee that’s high. The fact that fans make this hike for every game after a morning (or afternoon) of tailgating is total dedication.

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In any case, we were going to do a write-up on tonight’s game but then we remembered it’s the preseason and it only counts if someone gets hurt (/knocks on wood). Just 13 more days, people, then the fun really begins.

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Also, Drew Brees continues to be a Golden God.

The New Orleans Saints were at the White House today, where they presented President Barack Obama with a team jersey and he congratulated the team on its Superbowl championship (Reported here and here). Other visitors to the White House included this lineup of chefs, lead by Jeff Tunks (second from the left), who was formerly the executive chef at the Windsor Court and currently owns the Washington, D.C., restaurants Acadiana, DC Coast, TenPenh and Ceiba. Tunks and four D.C. chefs constructed a 30 foot shrimp po-boy for a luncheon attended by Sen. Mary Landrieu, Rep. Steve Scalise and Coast Guard leader Thad Allen. Obama hosted a large contingent of pro basketball players yesterday, as reported by the Washington Post. He hooped it up with Chris Paul, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, David West, Bill Russell (who did not play) and many others. They also dined on Gulf shrimp. One of the few details available about the event.

Update: The full lineup of chefs includes (left to right) Jeff Buben, Jeff Tunks, David Guas, John Fulchino and Ann Cashion.

First came Drew Brees gracing the cover of the video game Madden NFL 2010 and now there is this YouTube clip of the Saints repeating as Super Bowl Champions in the video game, complete with victory parade and trip to the White House.
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Now, as my Saints preview illustrated, Who Dats may not be stressed out about the Saints’ upcoming season (at least not compared to years past) so this may be but a blip on people’s radar, but isn’t this city all about superstition? Last year, as my hometown Redskins floundered and the Saints piled up wins, I would spitefully (and drunkenly) make ridiculous predictions about the Saints winning it all, much to the chagrin of every Who Dat (I’m surprised I never got punched). But now the Saints are champs and Brees is on the cover of Madden and there’s a digital celebration of their upcoming repeat.
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How times change.