Filed under: NFL | Tags: Cowboys, Jerry Jones, NFL Combine, Saints, Sean Payton
As a Colts fan, I’m still a little bitter, but today’s story from the NFL Combine here in Indy has me conflicted about Saint’s coach Sean Payton. Here’s the skinny:
Payton and the Saints staff were heading to a fine evening of dining in a private room at the famous St. Elmo’s Steakhouse in Indianapolis, where basically anybody rich and famous goes when they come to town. Says Peter King:
At the restaurant, word passed that Dallas owner Jerry Jones would have his Dallas group in this exact room Saturday night for a team dinner. Jones had even phoned ahead, according to a waiter, to make sure a magnum of a wine he loved, Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon, was ready to be served at dinner.
Sean Payton told the waiter he’d like to have that wine, too. The waiter told him: Sorry, sir. We have only one bottle left, and it’s reserved for Mr. Jones.
Payton said he’d like to have the bottle nonetheless. I assume there was much angst on the part of the wait staff at that point. My God! Who do we piss off? One of the most powerful owners in the NFL, or the coach who’s the toast of the NFL, the coach who just won the Super Bowl?
Here came the bottle of Caymus Special Selection, and the Saints’ party drained it.
But drinking Jones’ wine wasn’t enough. Payton gave the waiter some instructions, took out his pen … and, well, the Cowboys party found at the middle of their table the next evening an empty magnum of Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon, with these words hand-written on the fancy label:
WHO DAT!
World Champions XLIV
Sean Payton
Hero? He showed Jerry Jones what was up. He drank his milkshake wine! Asshole? He drank his wine and left a braggy note! The two teams play each other next season, so we’ll see who gets the last laugh in all of this.
