So, I have always been a huge fan of the New Orleans Saints, and for a while, I had been thinking about mascots, especially Gumbo. So, I started digging around to learn more about this big guy.
I started by searching online to figure out the deal with Gumbo. It turned out, Gumbo is this anthropomorphic Saint Bernard dog. I found out that he wears a Saints jersey with the number 00, along with black pants and shoes. Pretty cool look, right?
Then I learned that Gumbo wasn’t just some random idea. I found that in 1967, the Louisiana Restaurant Association gave the Saints this Saint Bernard puppy as a gift. This was way back when the Saints first joined the NFL as an expansion team.
- I read that they named him “Gumbo” after holding a contest with over 3,000 entries.
- I also discovered that Gumbo was a real dog at first.
- He roamed the sidelines in dog-sized Saints gear.
I realized the reason they chose a Saint Bernard was pretty interesting. Turns out, Orleans Parish, where New Orleans is, shares a border with St. Bernard Parish. So, it is a nice nod to the local geography.
I also found some fun stuff, like how Gumbo used to be serenaded by Al Hirt, a famous New Orleans trumpeter, and a minority owner of the team, back in 1967. That’s just classic New Orleans!
Later, I realized that Gumbo isn’t the only mascot. There is another one named Sir Saint. Apparently, Sir Saint came first, then Gumbo replaced him, but later on, they brought Sir Saint back. It is kind of a fun back-and-forth between these two.
Nowadays, when you see Gumbo at the games, it is a person in a costume, not a real dog anymore. I found a photo of Gumbo cheering during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and yeah, it is clear it is a person in there.
The Real Deal
So, basically, my little research project taught me a lot about Gumbo and the Saints’ mascot history. From a real dog to a costumed character, Gumbo’s story is pretty unique and tied to the team’s and city’s history. It was a fun deep dive into something I had been curious about for a while!
