Saints fans believe they should have been playing in the Super Bowl. As a result, Saints fans shunned the Super Bowl.
According to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Super Bowl LIII earned a 26.1 rating in New Orleans. That was the lowest rating for any American market. It also was the lowest Super Bowl rating ever for New Orleans.
In contract, last year’s Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl racked up a 53 rating in New Orleans, more than twice the 2019 number.
Meanwhile, thousands of Saints fans showed up for a combined party and protest, dubbed the “Blackout and Gold Second-Line Parade.”
More than two weeks after the NFC Championship, Saints fans continue to be upset by a missed call on an early hit by Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman on Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis. If the officials had called either pass interference or illegal hit on a defenseless receiver (or both), the Saints would have been in position to consume most of the clock before kicking a go-ahead field goal.
Instead, the Saints kicked a field goal with nearly 1:50 remaining, giving the Rams enough time to get in position for a game-tying three-pointer. The Rams went on to win the game in overtime.
Compounding Saints’ fans frustrations regarding the bad call was the fact that the league stubbornly refused to acknowledge the error.