I was watching a CNN series the other night on the 20th anniversary of hurricane Katrina and the devastation in New Orleans from the flooding when in one of the episodes they focused on the Saints and the Superdome.
It was a dicey few years for the Saints after Katrina with the owner Tom Benson threatening to move the team to San Antonio if he couldn’t get a new stadium. Hard to fathom the Saints not playing in the iconic Superdome. That season the Saints played half their home games at the Alamodome in San Antonio and the other half at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. It wasn’t until the following season that they were able to return to a completely refurbished Superdome in the now iconic Monday night game against the rival Atlanta Falcons.
That year was near the end of Bruce native Fred Thomas’ NFL career. I recall him telling me back then what a challenging time it had been being shuffled around as a team without a real home.
I’ll never forget the blocked punt by Steve Gleason that opened the game. Tony Kornheiser, who was in the broadcast booth at the time, later said that was the loudest noise of any kind he had ever heard when that block happened and the crowd erupted. I remember watching and thinking I saw Fred racing toward the loose ball. I thought how awesome for him to recover and score the touchdown in this moment, but it turned out it wasn’t Fred’s #22 but #23 (Omar Stoutmire) and Curtis DeLoach that pounced on the ball.
“It’s hard to describe the emotion in that stadium that night,” Fred said. “It meant a lot to be able to get out there and perform and give the city something it could be proud of.”
When Fred retired from the game in 2008, I did a story with him looking back over his career.
He vividly remembered his rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks when he was asked to shut down NFL legend and fellow Mississippian Jerry Rice in man-to-man coverage.
“I was so focused, I got right up in his face determined not to get beat,” Thomas said. “Then the whistle blew, and I realized he wasn’t lined up on the line of scrimmage. I was two yards offsides on the first play.”
Fred was a second-round draft pick of the Seahawks in 1996. He said he was in awe much of those first couple of seasons in the league.
“I was definitely star struck,” he said. “I was playing against a lot of guys I had watched on TV for so long – Joe Montana, Steve Young, John Elway. It took me two or three years to get over that and realize I’m playing on the same field.”
Peyton Manning never did get over one of his first interceptions in the NFL that was snagged by Fred.
“I tried to get him to sign the ball after the game but he wouldn’t,” Fred grinned. “I’m still trying to get him to sign it, but every time I ask he just laughs. He’s got something against interceptions.”
Fred said the receiver that gave him the most fits was Minnesota Viking Cris Carter.
“I remember arguing with him on the field, and he would just say I’m going to get you tonight on ESPN,” Fred said. “Then I would watch Sportscenter that night and I saw what he meant. They showed those highlights of him beating me over and over again.”
After four years in Seattle, Fred signed with the Saints where he played the bulk of his 156 NFL games.
It was with the Saints that he earned All-Pro from Sports Illustrated in 2002, was presented the Ed Block Courage Award for playing through injuries, and was four times voted team captain.
“The Ed Block award and being a captain meant the most to me,” he said. “That let me know what my fellow players thought of me.”
As a 5’9” cornerback from Bruce High School, Fred worked his way up through Northwest Community College, Ole Miss, and ultimately Tennessee-Martin before getting the call from the NFL.
“I never thought the NFL was a possibility growing up,” he said. “I played with a lot of talented players coming up and never considered myself an NFL player. When I started getting phone calls from agents for the first time, I thought it was my teammates playing jokes on me.”
Former Bruce coaches Dennis Robbins and Donnie Logan, Northwest coach Bobby Franklin, and Joe Lee Dunn at Ole Miss were among the coaches Thomas said had a big impact on him. Once in the NFL, Dennis Erickson in Seattle and former New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett were instrumental in his career.
“They all played the same role with me,” Fred said. “It was a personal relationship that went beyond the football field.”
When I watch the Saints these days and see number 22, now worn by wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, I still think of Fred.
I still have my Saints number 22 jersey in the closet.