Lafayette, La. (Daily Advertiser)-You might say New Orleans Saints fans still haven’t gotten over the missed penalty callthat halted their team’s march to the Super Bowl.
The referees held tight to their penalty flags despite the obvious assault on Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis as the NFC Championship Game reached its finale last month and in true Mardi Gras tradition of satire, fans aren’t ready to let the world forget that they were robbed.
The blown call has sparked the creation of similarly bright-yellow-colored specialty throws: Beads attached to a bright yellow “penalty flag.” They’re stocked at Beads Galore in Lafayette, where store manager Christopher Benoit said they’re “flying off the shelf.”
But no official threw a penalty flag. With the penalty, the Saints would have had a first down and could have run the clock down and kicked a game-winning field as time expired.
As it turned out, the Saints were forced to kick a field goal with 1:41 left on the clock. That gave the Rams enough time to march down the field and kick a field of their own forcing overtime.
The Rams ended up winning the game, 26-23, and headed to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the New England Patriots, 13-3. The Saints, of course, fans know, would have trounced the Pats.
Hence, the penalty flag throw.
More on the game: Rams stun Saints in overtime after controversial no-call, advance to Super Bowl LIII as NFC champs
Benoit found some four-way stretch material that was the right color and got to work, with the staff staying up until midnight one night to crank out 30 dozen of them. Now there’s only one dozen left and the store is looking at having to make more, Benoit said.
“We did what we had to do to get them in here and they’re selling,” he said.
The fabric is wrapped around money-themed rubber bouncy balls that the store already sells — that decision was intentional, Benoit said.
“I feel like we were robbed and that’s where the money ball came in,” he said, referring to the blown call in the Saints game. “It cost us all. It cost us heartache.”
Beads Galore is selling the penalty flag throws for $4.50 a pop or $47.99 for a dozen.
Throwing them during Mardi Gras will be Saints fans way of making fun of the referees, said Krewe of Bonaparte member Bobby Schmidt.
“You’re making a joke out of something that’s become a joke,” he said.
The throws will continue to remind people of that fact, said Scott Coco, who will join his Krewe of Triton Gold Squad in throwing mock penalty flags from their indoor parade float, which will display a banner that reads “throw flags not games.”
“The damage has been done and all you can do is make fun of it and let people know we’re not going to forget this,” Coco said. “Mardi Gras is a perfect time to make fun of people’s huge mistakes.”
You can contact reporter Gabe Cavallaro at gcavallaro@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @gabe_cavallaro.
