the family playbook
Three Saints’ wives ( Katrina Greer, Katy McCown, Kirsten Watson), 12 kids, and a lot reffing!
Katrina Greer
Married to:
Husband Jabari, #33, Corner Back
Mom to:
Shia, 4, and Elias, 2
Years in New Orleans: 5
Previous football city: Buffalo (5 yrs.)
Q: Do you feel “settled” in NOLA now?
A: I do. It is home. We just fell in love with New Orleans. When Jabari used to play for Buffalo, the minute the season ended we were back home in Tennessee. With New Orleans, we would try to linger after the season, and then we’d also fly back for this event and that event. Eventually it was like New Orleans felt so much more like home than Tennessee.
Q: What’s your favorite kid-friendly restaurant?
A: The boys love Fresh Bar on Magazine.
Q: Your favorite date-night restaurant?
A: I had an awesome dinner at Martinique Bistro and that’s my favorite right now.
Q: What’s your favorite holiday activity in New Orleans?
A: My absolute favorite? My boys love trains and so it’s the Roosevelt Hotel for the displays and the model trains. And we love the train ride at the Celebration in the Oaks.
Q: Do your boys like to play football?
A: They love watching him play football. They don’t play [organized] football. I know there’s little league and stuff like that, but they’re involved in swimming and tennis and I want to get them involved in capoeira—Brazilian martial arts. Shai does love to tackle. I keep telling Jabari not to teach them that. I fear getting a call from school or from other parents asking me to talk to my kids about tackling their kids.
Q: Any game-day rituals?
A: We go to all home games and they’re there cheering with everybody else. They love the “Who dat” dance and they wear their jerseys. They always tell their daddy before the game, “Go get them boys.”
Q: Your typical Tuesday?
A: My boys are in a French nursery school. They have their routine regardless. Jabari has off Tuesdays and it’s usually our date day. We’ll go to a movie and get something to eat. And we’ll pick the kids up and he gets to do the daddy routine on a Tuesday. We get a taste of what life beyond football will be like on Tuesdays.
The Blitz:
City Park or Audubon Park?
Both.
French Quarter or Magazine St.?
French Quarter.
Lucky dog or po boy:
Lucky dog (for her boys. She and Jabari are venturing into veganism.)
Streetcar or riverboat?
Streetcar
Zoo or Aquarium?
Both!
Katy McCown
Married to:
Luke, #7, Quarter Back
Mom to:
Johan 8, Elijah, 6, Micah, 4, Annah, 3, Isaiah, 18 mos., Leah (born Sept. 14)
Years in New Orleans: <1
Former football cities:
Atlanta (1 yr.), Jacksonville (3 yrs.), Tampa Bay (4 yrs.) & Cleveland (1 yr.)
Q: How was it being in your 3rd trimester during a NOLA summer?
A: I’m originally from Shreveport, and our home base has been East Texas, so heat and humidity are pretty normal. But the humidity down here is its own animal.
Q: What was the hardest move you made?
A: Our very first, from Cleveland to Tampa. I was 8 months pregnant with my first child. All of that anticipation and unknown about having a baby; nothing was normal. I was adjusting to being a brand-new mom, adjusting to a brand-new place.
Q: How do your kids handle your husband traveling?
A: With our older two boys, it’s a big deal. They’re very close to their dad and they love the time they get to spend with him in the off-season. I know that they love me, but it’s kind of like, “Okay, when’s dad going to be home?”
Q: Do your boys like football?
A: They love football. At home, they’ll move the furniture and play football in the living room. They’ll improvise and play wherever they can. They love to wear their jerseys. They love to pretend they’re running out of the tunnel.
Q: What’s your kids’ favorite place for fun?
A: It’s a tie, between Bookoo Bounce and the Aquarium.
Q: What’s a typical day-in-the-life?
A: We homeschool, so every day during the week we’re going to start with school. We get up, have breakfast, do school. In the afternoon my little ones nap so with the older ones, we do centers and they do puzzles or play with Legos or do math reinforcement or science or history reinforcement.
Q: And Tuesdays?
A: It’s the guys’ day off. So Luke is typically home by 3 or 4 on Tuesdays so that’s when they really get to play with Dad. Go to the park, or Dad can partake in the football game in the living room. Our little girl likes to fly like a fairy so he flies her around the house.
Q: Have you taken the kids to any festivals yet?
A: No festivals yet, but I’m looking forward to the Christmas lights at City Park.
The Blitz:
City Park or Audubon Park?
City Park
French Quarter or Magazine St.?
Magazine St.
Lucky dog or po boy?
Po boy.
Streetcar or riverboat?
Streetcar.
Zoo or Aquarium?
Aquarium.
Kirsten Watson
Married to:
Benjamin Watson, #82, Saints’ Tight End
Mom to:
Grace, 4, Naomi, 3, Isaiah, 2, Judah, 8 mos.
Years in New Orleans: <1
Previous football cities: Cleveland (3 yrs.), New England (6 yrs.)
Q: What was your reaction when you found out you’d be moving to New Orleans?
A: A lot of excitement. I split my childhood between Atlanta and Baton Rouge, so it was really exciting. Just knowing what the streets look like, what the Dome looks like. I grew up going to the Dome. Our son was just two weeks old when we moved down here. It was nice to know that I knew people that could help us once we got here.
Q: You lived in Boston and Cleveland. Do you miss the cold?
A: We came from areas with tons of snow: lots of North Face; a legitimate reason to wear Uggs. The warmth is definitely something that’s welcome.
Q: What’s better: broiled lobster or boiled crawfish?
A: Oh, hands down, crawfish! When we were in Boston, everyone said, “Our lobster is amazing!” But I’d tell them, “It’s just butter. And it tastes like it just came out of the water. Take a hint from Louisiana and put some seasoning on that.”
Q: Do you all go to the home games?
A: This is the first year our kids are going to the games. In Cleveland, the games were typically at 1 pm, which is naptime.
Q: Do you have any game day rituals?
A: We pray together before each game. And when he’s going to be away, the kids will make him a card, and we’ll get him his favorite candy—something that they can give to him on Saturday to take with him.
Q: Do they like watching the away games on TV?
A: They get excited to see him, but literally, within five minutes they’re onto something else. They’re asking to play Candy Land and I’m like, “We’re watching the game, people!”
Q: Have you found New Orleans to be kid-friendly?
A: For sure, my kids love the zoo, all the parks, snowballs, festivals, and going to the restaurants!
Q: What do your kids like best about living in New Orleans?
A: For now they love that they can still wear shorts and play outside. My oldest keeps asking when the snow is coming. They also enjoy the food here—alligator, chargrilled oysters, seafood and snowballs are now favorites.