Fourcade, who took over from Bobby Hebert as quarterback, threw for 302 yard and two touchdowns to help the Saints defeat the once-mighty Buffalo Bills. Fourcade threw three more touchdowns the next week as the Saints beat the Philadelphia Eagles. Fourcade threw for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns in the Saints’ season finale. Fourcade’s story was unlike Cinderella’s. He was undrafted from Ole Miss. Before joining the Saints, he played in the Canadian Football League and the USFL. You’re probably wondering: What is the point of this? This was over 30 years ago, and Fourcade’s Saints career ended quickly. The truth is that I have waited for this story to be told for over 30 years. Please bear with me. This was January 1990, and New Orleans was hosting Super Bowl. John Fourcade was the talk of the town, and he knew that. Fourcade stated Wednesday afternoon that he had waited long and hard for the moment. He was making the stop in Jackson. “I had been cut by Canada, cut by the NFL, and played in every league known. Now, I was playing in the NFL with my local team. I was enjoying it and was making the most of it.” The Super Bowl party for the NFL Commissioner was held on Thursday night. Fourcade was also the toast at that party. He was a brunette and a blonde that night. Both looked like runway models. They had to share John that evening. Everyone wanted to shake his hands, kiss his back, grab his autograph, and get a drink. Fourcade replied, “Yeah. I remember all right. At least some of it.” “I felt no pain by the end of that party. We didn’t stop when the party was over. We continued to go.” But there was one problem. Fourcade was scheduled to speak at an inner-city school in New Orleans the next morning. He was also sharing the podium alongside President Ronald Reagan, who was visiting New Orleans for the Super Bowl. Fourcade stated that he had overslept. “Hell, they claimed they called me multiple times, but I never heard their phone.” Finally, a friend knocked on his door and got him up. “You gotta drive me,” Fourcade told him. Fourcade arrived at school looking disheveled, tired, and confused. Fourcade was taken backstage and introduced to Reagan. Fourcade laughed at this, much to Fourcade’s relief. The Secret Service agents didn’t smile. Fourcade stated, “I didn’t even think before i said it.” “I couldn’t think. “I couldn’t think. He wouldn’t make the list of 10 greatest quarterbacks that I have ever covered. He could play, but that’s not to say he wouldn’t. He was responsible for 6700 yards of offense at Ole Miss. He broke many of Archie Manning’s college records, and some Fourcade records were broken by him until Eli Manning did. Fourcade would surely be near the top of my list for the most difficult football players. I covered him at Ole Miss, and then with Saints. Both places suffered him brutal beatings. Fourcade at Ole Miss ran Steve Sloan’s “veer” offense which almost guaranteed that he would be smashed on every play. Fourcade stated, “They hit my if they handed me off, hit them if i pitched, hit if i ran with it, and hit me when threw it.” You get clobbered if you play quarterback in the veer. It’s a guarantee.” Ole Miss was the place he received his first two football-related surgeries. Yes, 23 including four knee surgeries that were replaced. He has a noticeable limp. He has had many neck and back surgeries, as well as shoulder and neck surgeries. He said, “I am 59.” He said, “My body is 99.” There were many concussions. Fourcade has his memories – or lots of them – and thankfully, he still has them. This is the hard part: Fourcade broke his throwing hand before he started his senior season at Ole Miss. He was sick and refused to play the night before his season opener at Tulane. He took the butter knife from his room service plate, and cut off the cast. “Wasn’t easy. It took me a while,” said he. He said yes, and the next day he told Steve Sloan, then-Ole Miss coach that he was ready. Although he didn’t play, he played and played well and led the Rebels to a victory of 19-18. Fourcade stated that he still had three pins in his hand. “I had three pins in my hand that I had to hide from the officials.” Fourcade suffered a broken shoulder during the fourth quarter of the Tulane game. He played the whole game the following Saturday, which was a win over Memphis. Fourcade did not enjoy a winning season at Ole Miss. Sloan’s Rebels scored enough points to win, but they couldn’t stop other teams scoring more. Fourcade admits that he often wonders what might have happened if he had accepted other scholarships, such as one from Bear Bryant in Alabama or Charlie McClendon LSU. He was recruited by almost everyone after he had completed four years at Shaw High School. Fourcade stated, “I loved Coach Bear and was going to Alabama until an assistant coaches told me that I would not start there until at least a junior.” LSU was the same. Both were well-equipped at quarterback. Steve Sloan and David Lee both recruited me to Ole Miss. They both said that I would have the opportunity to start as a freshman. “I didn’t want two years of sitting on the bench.” Fourcade will quickly answer your question about the highlights of his Ole Miss career. He said, “My last game, without doubt.” “Last play of last game. We beat Mississippi State with a touchdown. Never forget it. It was the winning touchdown that you scored to defeat your arch-rival on your last college play – how could it not be my greatest memory? Fourcade was 3-1 against State. And those were some great Mississippi State defenses featuring Tyrone Keyes and Glen Collins and Billy Jackson. As a ninth-grader of thirteen, Fourcade was his first start in high school. He said, “We ran the same offense at Ole Miss, the veer,” “I was beaten up. I was a child. I was playing against mature men with beards. They nearly killed me …” Fourcade stopped for a moment. He continued, “The truth is, I loved it.” “I loved to play football,” he said. He continued playing even after the Saints had cut him in 1990. He continued throwing and running in football’s netherworld, and even getting punched. Indoor football was his forte. He played for the Miami Hooters and the Milwaukee Mustangs as well as the Mississippi Fire Dogs, Mobile Seagulls, and the Mississippi Fire Dogs. He was the quarterback and the head coach for the Seagulls and Fire Dogs. Have you ever seen indoor football games played on a hockey-wall-surrounded field? It might also be called demolition football. The walls are often involved in the collisions, which can often be quite brutal. Fourcade seemed to not care. Fourcade just wanted to play and, when he couldn’t play anymore, he coached the Florida Firecats and the Tupelo Fire Ants. He did not quit the Stars. After a 5-1 record, they folded on him in 2016. That was enough for Fourcade. It was 26 years since Fourcade shared the podium with President Reagan. Fourcade, who is still recuperating from his knee replacement, lives on a well-earned NFL pension and disability, and works part-time for ESPN Radio in New Orleans. He said, “No complaints here,” to me. I loved it all. “I loved it all. And miracle of miracles, you can still get around.”