The Saints Came Marchin’ In

When the New Orleans Saints won their berth in the Superbowl, the odds on favorites were Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts, the Saints were in but that was all. When even the Vatican  gave special permission to the Arch Diocease to fly the saints flag instead of the papal flag on Sunday, there must have been some “divine” intervention.

But America and the WhoDAT?! Nation weren’t braced for what was to follow.

Who Dat?! Say They Gon Beat Dem Saints? Who Dat!? could be heard round the world for the 2 weeks prior to the game. The NFL tried to trademark the phrase (read: are you kidding me?) that loyal Saints fans had shouted for years. Smack talk abounded. The odds makers watched their line shrink to a mere 5 points. And with strength to rival even the worst hurricane force winds, the Who Dat?! Nation decended on Superbowl 45.

You saw the ravaged city post Katrina, where we left our homes and our hearts. You saw the tears of a city seemingly forgotten. The devistation seemed to toll the death of a way of life.  Fast forward 13 months to the re-opening of the Super Dome.

Sean Payton and his  band of free agents echo the spirit of a city that will not give up. The Saints came home to the dome.

Since the 46-year-old Payton arrived in New Orleans in 2006, recruited Drew Brees with a wrong turn on the tour of the hurricane ravaged city, the Saints have brought the “spirit” back.  The people, who haven’t had much to smile about, head to the dome, and love dem some Saints. Win or lose its about moving on. Moving up. And move up they did!

Drew Brees was heard to say, post the Superbowl win and  during the “Lombardi GRAS” parade last night, ” This is for you! New Orleans!”

As Mardi Gas began this year,  parades scheduled to roll on the first big weekend of Mardi Gras — Feb. 6-7 — scrambled to keep from interfering with the Saints’ match up against the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 .(Only the Saints in a Superbowl battle could cause this to happen)

And now, we Celebrate.  Krewes donated their biggest floats for the team and organization. A parade added to the mix.  Its been dubbed Lombardi Gras but Mardi Gras continues and this year in the largest fashion ever. The City of New Orleans,  the whole Who DAT?! Nation and the world say  We Believe..Thank you Sean Payton, thank you Saints Football Team. You believe in us and WE believe in YOU!

(below is raw video from the parade)

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• New Orleans celebrates Saints, Mardi Gras-style (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
• New Orleans Saints celebrate Super Bowl championship with parade (sports.espn.go.com)
• Saints celebrate win with Mardi Gras-style parade (cbssports.com)
• New Orleans rallies to first Super Bowl title (nationalpost.com)
• Who Dat Didn’t Want to See This? (online.wsj.com)

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