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Local lad makes good in the big easy

Notwithstanding the current labour difficulties keeping the Canucks off the ice, you'd be pretty hard pressed to argue that we don't have it good as sports fans in this city.

Notwithstanding the current labour difficulties keeping the Canucks off the ice, you'd be pretty hard pressed to argue that we don't have it good as sports fans in this city. We have teams in most every type of game you could imagine playing at a high level, and the BC Lions and Vancouver Canadians pretty much engineered to deliver championships. The only time this becomes an issue is when your first love is the type of 4 down football currently played only in the good old USA. If you're anything like my friend Jordan and his family it's a pretty easy fix. Just load up the car and head from your Lower Mainland home to Seattle...then board an airplane bound for New Orleans, home of the Saints.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina the Saint's were at risk of being moved. A wildly successful season's ticket drive created an opportunity for fans like Jordan to support a team and city they loved and also to provide for that team's longevity and future success. That drive was so successful in fact that every single one of the 72, 000 plus seats is allocated to a season's ticket holder. It's the only way to ensure you can be there. Being a season's ticket holder for almost any professional sports team requires a large commitment financially. Become a season's ticket holder for a franchise that sits about 4500 kms from home and those expenses are increased exponentially. It's a lot to commit to and Jordan's pretty lucky to have Ann-Marie, his very understanding football loving wife. Football aside, the biggest part of what keeps them coming back year after year are the positive things they've been able to share with their seven year old son Strachan (named after the local mountain). As Jordan puts it, "it’s about exposing him to a city that I have called a second home for the last 20+ years.  It’s the opportunity to introduce him to a completely different culture and way of life.  The opportunity to experience the unique music, the architecture and landscape, the food, and the Southern hospitality. It’s him learning about perseverance, pride, and kindness that the people in New Orleans have towards themselves and the city they live in".

On October 7th, 2012, the families commitment was recognized and rewarded by the team. Strachan was selected to participate in the Saint's junior tee retriever program which is organized by New Orleans restaurant chain Copelands. Strachan and his family also had a seperate opportunity to interact with the players (like Super Bowl winning Quarterback Drew Brees) at practice the day before the game.

If you're not as familiar with Football, the ball is kicked off a tee at the start of each half and after any team scores. The Saints give two kids the opportunity to spend the game on the sidelines near the team and to retrieve the Saint's tees from the field. I'll just assume the other team is expected to clean up after themselves like a good houseguest. Now if that doesn't sound exciting to you, I encourage you to consider what seven year old you would think of the opportunity to stand beside your heroes and sprint onto the field in front of 72,000 screaming fans. It helps a little to know that Strachan was basically born a Saints fan first and a football fan in general. He's been participating in his Grandfather's law firm football pool since he was three and has never finished out of the top five. Even more, he spent two years introducing himself to people as Saint's wide receiver Marques Colston. (pictured below)

Obviously for Strachan an opportunity like this is a dream come true. The same could be said for Jordan, who puffs up with pride in telling the story, and who can't say enough about his gratitude to the team and to Copelands for everything they did to make this happen for Strachan.

Check out this video of Strachan retrieving his first tee. He was lucky enough to be called into action for the kick off which immediately followed Drew Brees breaking a nearly 50 year old NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass. As you can imagine the fans were losing their minds, but Strachan takes it all in stride.

http://vimeo.com/52811229