Donald Silcio’s Saints memorabilia fills an entire room—and then some, if you’re counting his Saints golf cart
and ’66 Saints Mustang, recently restored, compliments of an NFL Network show. He professes to have been a
Saints fan since the day he was born, and no one who meets him would doubt it.
It was in 2006 that Silcio felt the post-Katrina excitement of Payton, Brees and Bush, and decided to take his fandom to greater heights. Since then, he’s rarely missed costuming as Gametime Saint for either home or away games, and has participated in many fundraising events as a Super Fan—especially those involving kids’ causes.
As Gametime Saint, Silcio’s costume echoes that of the players he admires, albeit a bit flashier in some areas,
such as his gleaming chrome-like helmet. Silcio even likens his game-day preparation to the Saints players gearing up themselves for a big game. His ritual starts around 5 a.m., always with a little music to get him in the groove as he starts on his uniform and body paint. He jokes that it takes him longer than his wife to put on his makeup, but the final result has become a fan favorite. And, also not unlike many of the black and gold players, Silcio’s game-day superstitions can sometimes run deep. During the 13-0 streak of 2009, he didn’t wash his game-day socks a single time.
