If there was ever any doubt

Black and gold on game day

This place ain't NOLA.  We were the only three I found wearing black and gold today.  Beyond that, no one even muttered a Who Dat, Get Crunk, or Ya You Right.  Sigh.  If that wasn't enough, those damn academics Charlie works with planned a function for this evening.  Um, even if you're not a Who Dat, the game does begin the NFL season and every red blooded American should be sucking down cold brews catching the game. 

So I'm on the couch, windows open, snuggled under a blanket, waiting for the game.  And crying a little bit.  Ok, a lot.

Amen

We watched dem boys win the Superbowl on Sunday. It's pretty surreal. Growing up, the Saints were always that team. You know, the losing team. And now, World Champions?

Pigs are flying! Who Dat!

We watched the game at home and I didn't take any photos of the three of us. Charlie was a little too edgy to entertain my photo documenting. We listened to the city errupt around us as the game ended. We both had to step out on the porch for a minute for a better listen. Fireworks, screaming, music. Wow.

So much has been said by all, even the players, about what this means to the city in these Post-K days, and I suppose the metaphor resonates with many. But really it just feels good to have yet another reason to celebrate and be proud. Like we needed one, right?

Everyone seems to have erased Benson's threats to relocate the Saints to another city not so long ago. I wonder what kind of homecoming they'd have if he had brought them elsewhere. Monday the Saints were greeted by thousands (I've heard a 10,000 estimate) of fans at airport for their arrival home, with Coach Sean Payton holding the Lombardi Trophy out his sunroof for all to admire.


Drew Brees' home is decorated by fans. (Thank you, Carol for the photos! We'll be making an offering to the Brees' home soon.)


And of course we celebrated with a parade like no other...to kick off Lombardi Gras!

Waiting for the parade at the beginning of the route by the Dome.

We bundled up and made our way downtown despite my having been up all night puking, and I do mean all night. I did not want to miss this and I am sure Buggers will thank me one day for dragging his behind out there as well.

Do I look like a woman about to hurl?

Drew Brees looked like a kid on Christmas. He had a grin that went from ear to ear.



And ALL of the players were filming us as we were filming them. What an experience for those boys!


Scott Fujita was taking it all in.


Deuce made the ride.


The players were just as excited as we were, gladly signing everything people passed to them on the floats.

Here comes the train carrying the trophy!

Sean Payton and THE trophy were on the last float. I'm sure that smile on his face has been plastered there since Sunday.


All this as the Buggers ate his pretzels and wiggled to the music.

The parade took a while to meander through the city. Word has it that some players climbed off floats to by hot dogs, corn dogs, and other parade fare from street vendors....to go with those beers they were kicking back on board. Drew Brees made an appearance at a local bar later in the evening and led everyone in a cheer. Love that guy!

So much fun to be a New Orleanian. Life is good in the Big Easy.

SupaBeauxl Bound!

Oh what a night! Our boys are NFC champions and headed to the Superbowl!


The feeling in the city over the past week has been amazing. *Everyone* has been giddy in anticipation of last night's game and I imagine the ride on cloud 9 for the next two weeks will mean even more brotherly love in the Big Easy. I cannot count the number of strangers I planted a kiss on last night...or who planted a kiss on Charlie.


Reading the articles about the "love affair" between the fans and the team makes me grin. It certainly is a love affair; we're some passionate folks here in NOLA. There just isn't any other way.


It was bitter sweet for us. It was our last night in the Dome, as regulars that is. I imagine this time next year we'll be pulling up a bar stool, who knows where, next to a handful of Who Dats who have been waiting to turn up that yat accent.

Southern's band rocks the half time show!

Who Dat!!!

To do:

• Finish Mardi Gras costumes, incorporate black and gold
• Get king cakes
• Mardi Gras food: poboy fixins, bloody mary fixins, Zapps and other junk food
• Finishing touches on the ladder chair, make it cozy
  
• Order keg of Abita Amber
  
• Call for port a potty to be delivered 2.4.10
• Pick up Jazzfest tickets before $120 weekend prices run out
• Superbowl food: burgers and fixins (or pulled pork and ribs?)
  
• Take 2009-2010 Saints tickets to be framed in a collage

It's an only in New Orleans list, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Who Dat!

I knew he had to be a Saints' fan deep down.

After his last trip to the Dome I was hesitant, but Freddie begged and pleaded, as did his Daddy. All three of us had to be there to see the Saints' go 8-0!

The camera battery was dead but there were no explosive diapers, tears, or breastfeeding in the smokey stalls. We stayed until the last five minutes of the game as the Saints' took the lead.


The headphones helped a whole lot. Charlie keeping it low key next to us helped as well. He even got to the point where he'd scream along with everyone else. And his voice could be heard by the folks in front of us who'd turn around to exchange smiles with him. But for the most part he was content to hang out on my lap or practice his standing while holing on to the seats in front of us.


That's our boy! He's a seasoned NOLA sports fan.

Saints Game, Take 2

Practicing with the headphones

We thought for sure the stars would align and our second time in the Dome with Bug would be better than last time. We took the hint though with the thunderstorms moving through all day and Charlie's sick state, and at the last minute decided to stay home.


We wore our jerseys and rooted for our team. Charlie's temperature has bounced around between 99.5 and 101.4 all day. Bug and I are healthy and the Saints are 4-0. Hoping Charlie's just got a case of Who Dat fever and not the swine flu.

Freddie's First Saints' Game

Well, more than it being Freddie's first game, it was our first game as parents. As much progress as we have made in parenting, we were "schooled" today for sure.


I'll keep it simple:

• One super cute family decked in Saints' gear
• No nap, all day
• Torrential downpour walking to the game (frizzy hair and wet feet but a dry baby under the umbrella)
• Gave him a salty giant pretzel in an effort to occupy him. Yummy salt!
  
• Bouts of tears as a reaction to The Daddy's extreme emotion
• Teether dropped on the sticky Dome floor, wipe off, and stuck back into the mouth
• Explosive diaper changed on the concourse
• Peeing all over during diaper change (this is the first time in a long time for this, but I would expect that he'd have to do it here!)

• Bottle of freshly pumped breastmilk spilled in diaper bag as lid wasn't on tightly
• Neither The Mama or The Daddy checked to make sure there was a nipple on the bottle
• Breast feeding session in the handicapped stall of the restroom since the bottle has no nipple on it
  
• Standing in the stall nursing for a LONG time as The Bug is very distracted by the announcer calling plays through the bathroom speakers.

• Might as well be nursing in a bar because everyone smokes in the bathrooms.
• Women outside the stall imply that the lady taking so long in the handicapped stall is smoking, to which The Mama shouts out, "Lady, I'm in here breastfeeding." Bathroom goes silent.
• Plans for a family photo scrapped. All pictures are taken with the phone, as I am too involved entertaining The Bug to dig out the camera.
  
• The noise level on touchdown runs scares The Bug, along with his not quite understanding his father's intense display of emotion. The Saints had an unusually high number of touchdown drives.
• Mesmerized by the Southern Band half time performance and got "jiggy" when "Halftime" played at each kickoff
  
• Lots of giggles and smiles at the fans behind us.

• Inhaled the boozie breath of Uncle Lee but really enjoyed his silly faces.
  
• We finally gave in and left at the end of the third quarter.
• A worn out family made their way back to the car, wondering if we just subjected our sleep deprived kid to child abuse.
  
• We'll do better next time. I promise, Bug. But just in case, I am calling up Stephanie, babysitter extraordinaire, to see if she is up to coming over on game day, for her mere $10/hour fee.
  

Football!

We're excited to be moving into a new season...football season! Games in the Dome on Sunday, and then on the tube 5 out of 7 nights a week.

The Saints pulled out a win in their home opener today, and they looked pretty good doing it. Charlie gets so amped up...drives a bit erratically downtown, gets huffed up getting into a parking spot, and then jiggles his leg nonstop through all four quarters. Thankfully we didn't have a walk back to the car with him pouting this afternoon.

Good ending to a blur of a week.

The season begins

Back to the Dome last night for a preseason game. We've been waiting for these games since the last Hornets' playoff game ended. Can't get enough sporting events in.

Charlie pulled out his Deuce jersey, since he'd be back on the field tonight after a long absence last year. I need to find a maternity jersey, or you may be seeing me at the home games in a black sports bra and yellow painted belly.


We left while the Saints were winning (they eventually lost) to swing by Brocato's for a healthy serving of lemon ice before heading home to watch Michael Phelps and the American swim team pull out yet another gold medal and set a world record. I cried, of course, despite my feelings that they're all doping.

Glad we're back to football season, watching games, and discussing stats over breakfast.

We Believe

Not sure how much faith will put our team in the playoffs. They've got to do their part, and quite frankly, I'm not sure at this point in the season it'll make any difference.

We cringed through the last home game of the season against the equally pathetic Eagles. Hopefully we'll break even and end up with an 8 and 8 record after next week.

0-4

It's bad. Really bad.

I wonder if paper bags will begin showing up at the next game.

The Aints?

This time the blow is softened, as I won one quarter of the football pool.

At least we have the Tigers.

Football!

Us outside the Dome after the game

It's game time! The Tigers and the Saints are starting their seasons.

We headed to the last preseason game for the Saints last night and had to bring along a radio and headphones to get updates on LSU during the game. I'm not sure who was responsible for the Saints and the Tigers playing the same night, but hopefully they've got it figured out and it won't happen again.

The Saints looked good in their preseason games and LSU stomped the Bulldogs. Ah, sports. It's great for the New Orleans soul.

We have lots to get done around the house this weekend, because our weekends are soon to be filled with football viewing, from home and the Dome. I do love this time of year. It means lots of relaxing, and forgetting about projects to root for our team.

Seasonable decorations

The neighborhood is getting ready for the Saints season!



I imagine by the time we have the home opener at the end of September, I'll have lots more photos to post from around the neighborhood.


These two are right around the corner.

It's that time again...

We donned our Saints gear and headed to the Dome for a preseason game against the Bills.

The crowd was thin, only filling the Dome halfway. But, we were there to see what these potential Saints may have to offer.



It was..mmmm....kinda interesting. The Saints lost. Starters played less than a quarter.

But look at our dinner. And we washed it down with $7 beers. Love the new fleur de lis paper with the concessions!


We have a one more preseason game and six weeks before things really get good.

Game Over

We watched from our couch...



as the season came to an end for our Saints.

So close.

So many turnovers. It was SNOWING for crying out loud. They did their best.

A great year.

We are looking forward to next season, but in the mean time we're drowning our sorrows in a little Who Dat cake.

Even God Loves the Saints

You can get the sacrament of Holy Communion, do some Bible study, and watch the game, all in one place!

Two Words

Who Dat?

We've opted to stay home and watch the Saints play the Bears. Even though there is an energy flowing through the city and we feel the call to be cheering for our team in a sports bar, we've opted to remain on our own couch.

Didn't want to have to fight for a seat, and smell all smokey. Does that mean we're getting old???

Who Dat Fever!

The Saints have the city charmed, regardless of their loss last Sunday to the Redskins.

On the neutral ground on Napoleon....



"Prepare Now, Category 5 Brees, Heading For, Super Bowl, Go Saints"

On a home on Carrolton Ave...

Who Dat?

We, like many other New Orleanians, have been waiting for the Superdome to reopen for quite some time. Thankfully, we got in early with our season tickets purchase. I can hardly believe the Dome will be filled with season ticket holders in each and every seat.

Charlie and I were so excited...Charlie was SO excited, I thought he was going to pop! We took the afternoon off from work and walked downtown to have lunch with Lee. The rest of the afternoon was spent meandering around the city, watching fans get ready for the kick off.



The city, always celebrating something, has signs on almost every streetlight. The signs downtown celebrate the return of the Saints to the Dome. "Be a Saint."



The Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, and U2 joined the city in the celebration. Interestingly enough, I was more excited about seeing our team run onto the field and get in formation for the kick off. Of course it was nice to have Bono in our city, and I think everyone appreciated the national attention, but last night was really about out guys, The New Orleans Saints.



The energy in the Superdome was surreal. I thought the Dome was going to levitate. The opening defensive plays showed us that the Saints were with us; they too had this positive energy that could take them anywhere.



23-3, Saints. We're now 3-0. Fans chanted "Who Dat" as we left smiling. Looking forward to the next game. It is great to be a New Orleanian.