He’s gonna fit right in in New Orleans.
The New Orleans Saints picked up running back Travis Etienne earlier this week, shoring up a backfield that had question marks following speculation over whether Alvin Kamara could retire or go to another team.
The Clemson graduate established himself as a top running back in the league last year in Jacksonville, rushing for 25 touchdowns while also notching another 7 receiving TDs in a backfield that saw Etienne share touches with Bhayshul Tuten. (He also helped me win my fantasy football championship, so as a Saints fan myself I was particularly excited when we picked up Etienne).
It also doesn’t hurt that Etienne is from Jennings, Louisiana, just a couple hours away from the Big Easy, and grew up a Saints fan himself.
Oh, and he also has a son named Saint. He’s going to be a perfect fit in Who Dat Nation.
Etienne had his introductory press conference in black and gold today, and spoke about his excitement for the opportunity to play for second-year coach Kellen Moore and his home state team:
“Growing up in Louisiana, just watching the Saints each and every Sunday, just being inspired by Drew Brees, just being inspired by the guys. I actually wore 9 in college.”
But during his press conference, he also dropped another bombshell: We’ve been pronouncing his name wrong the whole time.
Etienne explained that growing up, his name was always pronounced “Ay-chan,” but eventually in college he got tired of correcting people and just began to roll with it being pronounced “E-T-N.”
Mind = blown.
But he’s hopeful that now that he’s back home, he can reclaim his name as it was supposed to be pronounced:
“I’m very much open to being ‘Travis Ay-chan’ again, being myself. I don’t have to correct people here on how to say my name each and every day, and I kinda love that. Just get back to me.”
Of course the internet is shocked to find out that’s how it’s actually supposed to be pronounced, and immediately began joking about Etienne’s fellow running back De’Von Achane.
If I had a nickel for every time an NFL player said the public was mispronouncing his name, and it was actually pronounced Ay-Chan, I’d have 2 nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?
— Rake (@Rakeathan) March 13, 2026
Of course the fact that his name is pronounced differently than it looks means he’ll fit right in down in New Orleans, a city where it’s easy to tell who’s local and who’s not based solely on whether or not they can pronounce street names correctly.
If you’re walking around the city and reading street signs based on how you think things are pronounced, you’re probably wrong. Burgundy Street? That’s pronounced “Burr-GUN-dy.” Calliope Street? “Cal-ee-ope.” And the true mark of someone who knows New Orleans is whether or not they can pronounce “Tchoupitoulas.”
Everybody thinks that their high school French education gives them an edge, but really New Orleans (and the state of Louisiana as a whole) is a whole different animal with its Cajun and Creole influences.
But maybe now that he’s home, Etienne can finally get his name pronounced correctly.
