Last but certainly not least in our Saints blogger series, I catch up with Dave Cariello of Canal Street Chronicles. Dave is a soon to be father, the Godfather and master of all Saints bloggers on the interwebs, and a food snob. You can find him posting food pictures on facebook that look so good they have to be plastic, in the Superdome the Wednesday night before a Saints game leading all the way up until kickoff, and whining about how Saints Nation somehow finds a way to have more than double his amount of twitter followers. Seriously though, if you spend any time on this site you’re obviously aware of CSC and you’re aware of who Dave is… it is, after all, by far the most visited and popular Saints blog on the internet. Dave has been a big part of my development as a blogger, and he’s been a loyal supporter of Saints Nation, so the very few of you that like and respect me should feel the same way about him. And yeah, go to his site, as if you didn’t already.
Enjoy his answers to the same questions we’ve been asking the Saints bloggers below:
Saints Nation: Alright man – tell us about you. What made you become a Saints fan? How long have you been one?
Dave Cariello: I’ve been one since my college days at Tulane. I would say probably 2002, which means I was 20 years old. They were just always on the television on lazy Sunday afternoons and quickly went from background noise to grabbing my full attention. I fell in the love with the game of football at the same time. After attending my first game in the Superdome I was hooked for life. I haven’t missed a home game since.
Saints Nation: Tell us about CSC. What made you decide to start it? Where can we find your stuff?
Dave: One night I literally just decided that I knew enough about the Saints that I could write my own blog and created one on Blogger. Not long after I stumbled upon SB Nation and noticed Canal Street Chronicles had been started but since abandoned. I emailed them and told them why they needed me. After a week they handed me the keys and I moved in permanently. You can find it at canalstreetchronicles.com.
Saints Nation: What makes your blog better than any other Saint outlet you can find on the interwebs? Or at the very least, what makes it different?
Dave: Quite simply I’d say it’s the community concept that makes us different. All of that comes courtesy of the format and technology that SB Nation has created, pioneered and perfected. We’re not just a blog, we’re a message board (FanPosts), a news feed (FanShots) and live chat room (auto-updating comments, open threads). We wouldn’t be nearly as popular without all of that because I promise you nobody would come just to read what I had to say. And I think it’s obvious that others are now following in our footsteps. When I saw the changes the Times-Pic made over at Nola.com, I almost fell off my chair. There are a lot of similarities.
Saints Nation: Jeff Duncan is always boasting about how he’s “not a fan” and he just reports the stories. He claims his detachment from the team makes him better because he’s an unbiased reporter. Do you buy that? Can you be a fan and still be a good reporter of the team you cover?
Dave: I’ll answer your last question first. I believe it’s possible for someone to be a fan of a team while also doing a quality job as a full-time, paid staff member of a media outlet with access to that team. But having that access might greatly alter a persons view of the team, however. As far as Duncan is concerned, I believe he is not a fan. I’m sure he’s got biases and leanings based on his personal interactions with those involved with the team and some of that intentionally or otherwise seeps into his writing. But I think you can say that about damn near everyone and I also think that’s completely natural.
Saints Nation: What’s your routine for staying on top of Saints news? Nola.com? Canal Street? Twitter? If a fan wanted advice on the best way to follow the Saints, what would you tell them. ($5 pay off if you mention Saints Nation in this response)
Dave: Definitely Twitter. It’s always on Twitter first. Any time someone has got a scoop, they’re going to tweet it first before actually putting together a quick story for publish. Because in that time, someone else might be breaking the news. But if they can tweet it first they can stake their claim and get all the credit for breaking the story, then write the actual story. Twitter is the new battle ground on which reporters now race to beat each other out. The tweet with the earliest time stamp is the winner. [editor’s note – Dave, unlike the other bloggers, will not be receiving a $5 check from me]
Saints Nation: Let’s talk a little Saints. Brees is obviously coming back. What about Nicks & Colston?
Dave: I wouldn’t be surprised if Loomis worked some magic and figured out a way to keep all three of them. I’m holding out hope. If one of them has to go, it’s probably Colston.
Saints Nation: Besides retaining key parts, what changes would you like to see the Saints make this offseason?
Dave: I think the most important change has already been made with the hiring of Steve Spagnuolo. Hopefully his mere presence will mean improvement for the Saints defense. But it probably wouldn’t hurt if he had a bit more talent to work with in the front seven. I just want to see some improvement in the Saints front seven. Please?
Saints Nation: After winning the Super Bowl, how do you feel about the 2010 and 2011 seasons overall?
Dave: 2010 was meh. But it wasn’t anything I didn’t expect. Even if they’d beaten the Seahawks, how much further would they have really gone? This past season was very memorable but the ending was just so incredibly disappointing. I don’t think I will ever forget it because like a lot of Saints fans, I truly believe the Saints would have won the Super Bowl if they’d have just stopped Vernon Davis. With all my heart I believe that. I still don’t really like talking about it.
Saints Nation: You’re about to have a baby. Any chance her first words WON’T be “Who Dat”?
Dave: No chance in hell.
Saints Nation: Anything else you want to communicate to Saints Nation’s 17 fans?
Dave: Who Dat!?
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