The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

The New Orleans Saints’ surprising victory in Super Bowl XLIV was salvation to many.

To Reggie Stone, it was simply a blessing.

All of the ankles Stone had wrapped and taped had a purpose. All of the treatment sessions he had initiated and meetings he had endured had meaning. And after years of bouncing around the NFL as an assistant athletic trainer, trying to find a team and job that fit, Stone had not only found a home — he had won a ring.

The Saints were Super Bowl champions. And so was he.

“When you think about it, chills go up your spine,” said Stone, who was born in Vancouver and attended Fort Vancouver High School.

Stone, 34, said the bond between him and the New Orleans players he has tended to since joining the team in 2003 is family strong. And while Stone was quick to praise Saints such as quarterback Drew Brees, running back Reggie Bush and linebacker Scott Fujita, several key New Orleans athletes offered equal praise in Stone’s name.

“One of the best things about the NFL is some of the unsung heroes,” said John Stinchcomb, a two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle for the Saints. “Reggie is one of those unsung heroes. His knowledge and positive attitude are unmatched, and he gets along with every individual on the team.”

But Stone’s powerful relationship with the Saints took years to develop. He followed an unpredictable, uneven road to New Orleans. And he nearly left the Big Easy in 2006, when his Vancouver-based family was in need.

Stone played basketball and ran track in high school for the Trappers, but an active sporting life was never his game.

“Everybody wants to be a professional player — that’s every kid’s dream as they grow up,” Stone said. “But I’m not that tall and I’m not that big.”

But what Stone lacked in height and weight, he made up for in key intangibles such as personality and people skills. Upbeat, funny and possessing a go-for-it attitude that is as inspiring as it is contagious, Stone made a difference by being himself.

“Reggie is good for a joke or two or three,” Fujita said. “The NFL season is really a grind, and there’s something different going on everyday. It’s good to work with someone like Reggie, because they take away from the grind; they make you think of other things.”

Stone, who also attended Clark College, found his true calling at Linfield College, serving as a student athletic trainer. And after continuing his education at Southeastern University in Hammond, La., Stone worked his way into the NFL.

But his journey had only begun.

He wrapped ankles, oversaw drills and fetched towels for three different teams — Detroit, Jacksonville, Carolina — from 2000-03. There were times when Stone wondered whether the trip was worth the destination.

“There aren’t many jobs in the NFL,” Stone said. “You have to move around.”

Connections with two former Linfield graduates gave Stone new life, though. And in 2003, he became a Saint. But that was when New Orleans’ most prized possession still had more in common with paper bags and years filled with misery and defeat than a shiny, silver championship trophy bearing Vince Lombardi’s name.

The Saints and the city of New Orleans hit bottom in 2005. Hurricane Katrina. Devastation and destruction. But Stone’s low point was still to come.

While the Saints were resurrected in 2006, acquiring Brees, drafting Bush and reaching the NFC Championship Game, Stone was forced to balance a taste of success with the death of his father. New Orleans was rising, and Stone was considering giving it all up.

“It was to the point where after he passed, I was thinking about actually stepping away,” Stone said. “Giving up sports medicine, and leaving in lieu of that moment. Leaving the team and moving back to Vancouver, just to make sure my mother was OK.”

Wilhelmena Stone said she was fine with whatever her son decided. But she wanted the decision to be his and his alone.

“My husband always encouraged (Reggie),” said Wilhelmena, a Vancouver resident since 1960. “He always told Reggie to give it his all. And that if he stuck with it, he would make it.”

Stone followed his father’s words. And after two more up and down seasons with the Saints, he and the team he takes care of finally found salvation Feb. 7 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

New Orleans stunned the Colts and most of the NFL world, roaring back to down Indianapolis, 31-17.

The Saints had their first Super Bowl championship. And Stone was blessed.

“It feels good, man. It just feels good,” Stone said. “Not only for me and my family. But also just to show kids out there that there is something else that you can do, even if you don’t play sports. You can still be involved with it, and still go out there and do something that you love. And in the end, there’s a payoff. And we got the big payoff this year. It’s just one of those things that words can’t describe.”

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