Even at the time, it made little sense to most people when the Louisiana Restaurant Association in 1967 gifted the then-fledgling New Orleans Saints with a St. Bernard dog to serve as the team's mascot. Granted, the breed had the word "saint" in its name, and the gift was said to be an homage to New Orleans' neighboring St. Bernard Parish, but other than that, any connections seemed pretty thin.
Only in retrospect did the gift of Gumbo, as the pooch was named, reveal itself as a perfect fit. After all, St. Bernards are used as Alpine rescue dogs.