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| For the very first time, after 43 years of angst and frustration, the Saints won the Super Bowl and brought the Lombardi trophy home to the Grand Old Lady by the River. And New Orleans welcomed them in a way that no other city would've - or could've - done. By some counts, eight hundred thousand people showed up to say thank you - thank you for so much more than winning the Super Bowl. To an area that's still recovering from the worst engineering disaster in the history of our country, the victory is about more than football. It's about perseverance, tenacity and true grit. It's about enduring, striving and, finally, succeeding, long after many would've given up. The team is a reflection of the city and vice versa. The two are inexorably intertwined in a way that would be hard for someone who doesn't live in the area to understand. All along the parade route, Coach Sean Payton held the Lombardi trophy in the air with one hand and with the other, he alternately threw out kisses and touched his heart in an 'I love you' gesture to the crowds. The crowds loved right back. Halfway through the parade, one of the commentators looked down at the coaches and players interacting with the throngs of people and said, "I don't think I've ever been witness to such an intense love affair before in my life." To tell you the truth, I don't know if there ever has been such a love affair before. New Orleanians tend to be a very emotional group, so, of course, I cried when the Saints won the NFC Championship and I cried when they won the Super Bowl. And I cried most of all during the parade, when a live aerial shot of the parade route, with lights aglow from every downtown building, appeared on the screen and a commentator said, "I've never seen the city look more beautiful." Or, I thought, more alive. The city, in spite of everything, has survived! She has a long way to go, but, it's a good time to reflect on her victories - just as on the Saints' victories - on what's been accomplished through the hard work of so many. It's time to do what the Grand Old Lady has been doing for 300 years and does better than anyone. It's time to celebrate. But don't expect this page to be about football. Nope. This, my friends, is a love story. Nancy |
| Above & right, quarterback Drew Brees - on a float with his offensive linemen - gives his arm a workout throwing beads to the crowd. |
| Right, Coach Payton, riding on a float with his wife and children, blows kisses to the crowd. |
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| Top right, an alligator float lines up in front of the Superdome in advance of the parade; bottom right, same float after parade has begun. |
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| Confetti rains down on a float. |
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| Above, Drew Brees shows his dance moves; top right, centurians stand guard on a float; bottom right, a float passes in front of the Superdome. |
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| Fans have left notes of thanks and gifts for Drew Brees on the gate at his house in New Orleans. |
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| A few extras |
| Ever since the Ursuline nuns first arrived in the city in 1727, they've been a big part of the city's life; I love this picture of two nuns congratulating a Saints player after the NFC Championship game in the Superdome. |
| My favorite picture from the Super Bowl - right after winning, Drew Brees holds his year-old son high, amid the falling confetti. |
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| I bet this is why he bought a car with a sunroof! Left & above: Ten thousand enthusiastic fans met the team at the airport when they arrived home from Miami. Left & above, Coach Payton gives them a look at the Lombardi trophy, while a cadre of police hold the throng back from kissing the trophy...or hugging the coach. :-) Meeting the team when they return home from road games isn't an unusual event - numbers at least in the hundreds and often in the thousands greet the team when it returns from all road trips - win or lose. It's a tradition that's unique to New Orleans among NFL teams. I was sad to read that only 11 (eleven!) fans greeted the Colts when they returned after the Super Bowl. That doesn't sound like much team spirit! New Orleans officials were planning on giving the team this huge parade in appreciation for the season - whether they won or lost the Super Bowl! And hundreds of thousands would've been there to say thanks for the season, regardless. Because we wouldn't want them to be disappointed - after all, they're, well...family. |
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| Sign at the parade - somebody's thinking ahead. |
| A Streetcar Named Miami - from this year's Barkus Mardi Gras parade. |
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| The photos on this page are thanks to many e-friends who shared with me and: New Orleans Lady's Flickr photos; metoo's Flickr photos; Times-Picayune website; Radio Station 96.1's website; WWL-TV's website |
| A Few of My Very Favorite Saints Music Videos Music: At the End of the Rainbow Friday's Journal The Past Whispers - Home Old New Orleans |
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| Please don't use the 'Send page' feature of your computer to send this whole page in an e-mail format - if you'd like to share it, please just send a link. The link to this page is: http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Victory_Party.html |
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