WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — The last day of the New Orleans Saints residence at The Greenbrier provided one last chance for fans to catch a glimpse of Drew Brees, Sean Payton, and the Saints, but with the added twist of a joint practice with the defending champion New England Patriots.
And if anything was clear from fans today: they hope the Saints extend their contract with The Greenbrier beyond 2016.
Julie Gomez and her family are originally from Hammond, Louisiana. Now, they live in Virginia–just a two hour drive from Saints training camp.
“This is the first time we’ve seen them in years,” Gomez said. “It’s amazing being so close to the players. I think it’s a great area for them.”
Local residents like Lewisburg native Brent May just hoped to bring his son out to see his favorite player–Drew Brees.
“We like the Saints,” he said. “We kind of root for the Saints. My little boy’s a Drew Brees fan.”
During the lengthy summer camp that began just over three weeks after the Greenbrier Classic, the surrounding area seems to come alive once again.
“Locally in town you see a lot of fans walking the streets of Lewisburg and downtown too,” May said.
While the players seemed to enjoy the more temperate August weather (temperatures have been near the 100’s in New Orleans recently), many said they were looking forward to getting home to their families.
“Sometimes just being away from your own bed, and to me that’s the major thing–being away from your own bed,” Saints outside linebacker Parys Haralson said after practice.
“If I could have brought my bed, we could have stayed here two more weeks,” he added.
Coaches and players alike cited the competitive nature that a joint practice creates. And the few thousand fans on hand seemed to enjoy it as well. Some even suggested bringing in more teams if the Saints don’t renew their contract past 2016.
“I think we’re open to whatever,” he said. “It’s kind of neat. It actually would be neat to see several teams to kind of come through. I think that would be neat too.”