Black and Gold Superbowl

Well I NEVER thought I would actually type this out but the Saints are going to the SUPERBOWL...yes, the New Orleans Saints. It was an amazing experience. I was so overwhelmed with emotion from the start of this trip. I think I almost cried when I first walk through Louis Armstrong Airport. And our tailgating was incredible. More boiled crawfish than even I could eat. And king cake, beer, alligator sausage (yes I ate it, very yummy). But it wasn't until I got into the Dome and the game was about to start that I realized exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was about to watch my first Saints game from the Dome since 1991...and they were playing for the NFC Championship and a chance to go to their first Superbowl...and I cried...not just a little but enough that everyone around me, even the grown men, felt the emotion. And they understood. Most had been here all along....most had suffered through Katrina....and when they got home, they cried. And so they knew exactly what I was going through.

The game, itself was so close the entire time. And to go into overtime. I just knew they had to get that ball and they had to make it down field. To stand there, with the same grown men, and watch impatiently as the Minnesota Vikings called a time out to delay the field goal just a little bit longer, was amazing. I had grown up in this city. Who I am is defined by this very place and this very moment. And then the ball just sailed through....I am not sure if I even saw it go through...I just saw the emotion...of the players, of the fans, even my brother cried. And for just a moment, New Orleans was truly the greatest city in the US...although I always knew it.

The themes that the team as always had "Faith." "I believe." They all came to this moment. And what a moment it was. Regardless of what happens in Miami, this city had it's moment in this place that was once a place of horror and destruction. And that's what I'll remember most.

On the road again

Well I'm off...ok, so I'm at least at the airport. I'm waiting for my flight to O'Hare. A little nervous because there is fog in Chicago and a light rain. I'm hoping that it doesn't delay any flights. Things are clear in Houston so I should be fine once I get there....and if worse comes to worse, I'll borrow a car from Susan and drive the 6hrs from Houston to New Orleans. I don't care. I'm going home!

I just passed a woman at the snack counter at the airport that was wearing a black and gold jacket with a Saints logo on the back. So me, in my gray tshirt with "Saints" in big letters across the front, tapped her on the shoulder and asked "are you going home for the game." She said "YEP!" We're everywhere.

And yesterday brought even more excited news---my brother said one of the guys that they tailgate with ...who's nickname is Lunchbox...has decided to boil 200 pounds of crawfish for the tailgate party. I haven't had a crawfish in so long I'd almost say I don't remember how to eat them...but that is of course not true.

And so the journey begins....

"I'm goin' home, to the place where I belong..."

I love the song "Home" by Daughtry. It's the perfect anthem for my upcoming trip. Most people are very surprised when I tell them that I have not been home to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina hit. I've made plans several times but they always seem to fall through. Well in just a few days I'll be heading home and I cannot wait. It's a very short trip but a very special occasion...at least for me. The New Orleans Saints will be playing in the NFC Division Championship Game....and they will be doing it in the Superdome. It's only the 2nd time in the teams history that they have made it this far. The last time, ironically, was in 2006, when they played the Chicago Bears. But this time, they are playing at home...the dome...the place where so many people were stranded during the storm...the place that was basically ripped apart when the people were stranded. But the place that made me cry when I saw the Saints run onto the field for the first time after they fixed it up.

I know that no matter what happens at the game, I will cry. I will cry because I'm home. I will cry because I am proud. I will cry because it's not where I am every day. But as much as I love New Orleans and as much as I am who I am because I was raised there...it's not where I need to be right now. But who knows....so I hope my loyal follower and anyone else who stops by will enjoy the chronicles of my journey. I promise to post LOTS of pictures as well.

So as we'd say Les sais les bon temp roulez! (I don't think I spelled it right but it's LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!)