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TOM "Boogie" Benson to Serve as Endymion Parade Grand marshal

Tom Benson has been tapped to serve as Grand Marshal of the Krewe of Endymion on their annual trek this coming Feb. 13, 2010. This appointment makes it plain to the most battle hardened Saint fan the this franchise is thankful for the fans support over the 25 years that Benson has owned the New Orleans saints franchise.

Benson, who owns the club, has passed most of his duties to his daughter, Rita Benson and as a result the team has done better this season. He will ride with the Saturday superkrewe,  on February 13, 2010 to be hailed for the teams 13-2 season, which was followed by the team's NFC Championship 2 weeks later.

This will be the most Saints focused parade season with the Endymion parade  followed by star quarterback Drew  Brees reigning as Bacchus on the next day, Sunday and head coach Sean Payton riding as one of the celebrity monarchs in the Krewe of Orpheus on Lundi Gras Monday.

In the announcement put out by the krewe, Benson said he will bring a family of other relatives and others to the parade, to accompany him, including his wife Gayle, his granddaughter and team co-owner Rita Benson LeBlanc and a delegation of Saints players and staff members.

The Saints are preparing to enter the Superbowl after winning their all-time best regular season record and the playoffs. A week before the biggest parades roll, on Feb. 7, is the Super Bowl. However, win or Lose the city has already planned a parade for the team after the super bowl in Miami.

Endymion Captain Ed Muniz said the krewe is having special umbrellas made for Benson. The krewe also said Benson and other riders on his float will throw coins commemorating the 25th anniversary of his ownership of the Saints.

"This is a unique opportunity to once again get in front of the best fans in the NFL and personally thank them for their support they gave our team during the 2009 season," Benson said in a statement issued by the krewe. "I look forward to seeing everyone out there and hopefully everyone can get a commemorative Saints coin."

Tom Benson was born 1927 in New Orleans, Louisiana and is well known as the owner of the New Orleans Saints NFL team. He is currently the owner of several automobile dealerships in the Greater New Orleans and San Antonio areas. Benson became wealthy by investing profits from his automobile dealerships into local banks. He eventually purchased several small Southern banks and formed Benson Financial, which he sold to Wells Fargo in 1996.

Benson was able to then purchased the Saints from John Mecom in 1985 after he learned from Louisiana Governor Edwin W. Edwards that the team was on the verge of being sold to parties interested in moving the team from New Orleans, Louisiana to Jacksonville, Florida. As a successful businessman, he recognized the economic implications of such a move not only for the city of New Orleans, but for the state of Louisiana as well, which was in the midst of a deep economic recession caused by plummeting crude oil prices. Ownership of the team was officially transferred to him on May 31, 1985.

Shortly after acquiring the Saints, he gained a reputation as one of the more popular and colorful owners in the league. He hired general manager Jim Finks and head coach Jim Mora, who led the Saints to their first winning season and playoff appearance well-known for his "Benson Boogie," a celebration at the end of Saints home victories in which Benson, in true New Orleans fashion, would second line dance down the field of the Superdome in the closing minutes of the game while carrying an umbrella decorated in black and gold.

His popularity later declined, however, after numerous attempts to persuade the state of Louisiana to construct a new stadium for the Saints to replace the aging and outdated Superdome, even going so far as to tear down housing projects and displacing hundreds of the city's poorest residents.

After being turned down by the state of Louisiana, he then suggested that he might move the team elsewhere if said stadium were not built. His popularity hit an all-time low in late 2005 after it appeared he was trying use the storm Katrina to move the team to San Antonio after the storm ravaged New Orleans.  He later stated that the Saints would return to New Orleans for the 2006 season, after being forced back by the NFL, which they did.

In 1998, he was granted a license for a team in the Arena Football League, which began play in 2004 as the New Orleans VooDoo. Benson is a resident of San Antonio, Texas. His brother, Larry Benson, has also been in sports ownership and owned the San Antonio Riders of the World League.

Benson is often called Tom "Boogie" Benson by Michael Wilbon on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption.

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