Only winning can ease Saints' loss of home game
By Pete Prisco | CBSSports.com Senior Writer Follow Pete
Judge: London diversion break for Chargers?
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As the New Orleans Saints players dressed last Sunday, the sting of their 30-7 loss to Carolina Panthers still fresh, they did so knowing that a weeklong business trip stared them in the face.
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| Deuce McAllister, Buck Ortega and Billy Miller leave practice Wednesday in England. (Getty Images) |
The idea is great for the league. But what about the players involved?
What about losing a home game and now playing nine road games and only seven at home? For the Saints, who are 3-4 and in desperate need of a victory, that's a hard one to swallow.
"Any time you lose a home game it's tough," Saints defensive end Will Smith said. "It's not your crowd. It's not your stadium. It's not your home game. It's just another thing we have to overcome."
This is the second consecutive year that the league will play a regular-season game in London. It's smart from a business standpoint, but it also means one team has to give up a home game.
Winning on the road is tough enough when faced with it eight times. A ninth time isn't such a warm idea to the Saints players.
"That's the worst part," Saints defensive end Bobby McCray said. "Football is football once you get between the white lines. But it's not having your home crowd that stinks."
To help ease the sting of the long trip, the Saints flew in spouses and family members on a separate charter this week. They will be the ones enjoying the time in England, not the players.
Most teams spend on average $140,000 a charter in the United States, according to one team's general manager. That means the two overseas charters are probably costing the Saints in the neighborhood of $400,000. Add in the lost revenue from one less home game it would seem to make no sense to play the game.
But ....
"They have to be making some money on the trip," said one league official. "Why would they do it?"
