Da Pope (Saints Superfan Series)

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It’s not hard to find the most popular New Orleans Saints fan in St. Bernard Parish. Head south from New Orleans on St. Bernard Highway, past Rocky & Carlo’s in Chalmette and the Valero Oil Refinery in Meraux, hang a left just past the industrial canal on Pope Street and step inside De Pope Launch & Tavern. There, behind the bar you’ll find a gray-haired man serving long necks to the fishermen and refinery workers.

His name is Lionel Alphonso Sr., but everyone around here calls him Da Pope, perhaps the most famous Saints super fan of them all.

If there were an Apostolic Palace of the Who Dat Nation, De Pope’s Launch & Tavern would be it. Saints momentos decorate its paneled walls, fleur…