but my ears are still ringing and there were only 7 people in my tv room.

Dear Saints,

Thank you for the greatest season in my lifetime. It was a long wait, but it was a worthy time. You’ve been part of my life for a solid 3 decades; longer than my husband or children.

Thank you because you care for a city that I love. You don’t just play there. Many of you have made New Orleans your permanent residence. Your varied charities give something to the city, really meaningful giving.

Thank you for the ups and many, many downs. Thank you for teaching me never to give up. Thank you for not letting me be a cantankerous old woman still waiting for something really special to happen to my team.

Thank you for playing with emotion.

Win or lose, no matter what, I’ll be there to welcome you home.

Who dat.

According to the news, Peyton Manning is a Machine that no one can possibly beat, he’s smart, he runs his offense like clock-work, nobody else even comes close.

Looks like somebody else does come close to that same level of greatness.

In order to simulate game-day at the dome, we will:

• watch the game from the nosebleed section (the upstairs bonus room)
• wear our black & gold gear (exactly the same ones as the last game, unwashed of the sweat and tears) including, but not limited to, buttons, chef hats, sparkly caps and boas
• bang on the walls
• play “When The Saints Go Marching In” at the beginning and end of each half
• play  “Stand Up and Get Crunk,”  after every touchdown followed by “Second Line”
• do the wave, never when the offense is on the field, only for the defense
• bitch about Reggie screwing up, right before he busts one open
• send my brother-in-law to the concession stand once per half
• ensure that this Seester goes to the bathroom at a pivotal moment and misses the score that changes the game
• curse under our breaths as we climb the stairs to our seats
• lose our voices
• take preventive tylenol to ward-off headache prior to kickoff
• dance on the sofas
• cry if they win, eat cookies if they lose
• have faith

And, this ain’t your momma’s ticker-tape parade…

A simple roundup ala Falcon-style, only shorter.

Bobby Hebert kicking off the Buddy D If-The-Saints-Ever-Make-It-To-The-Superbowl-I’m-Strolling-Down-Bourbon-Street-In-A-Dress Memorial Parade.

Because one can never have enough of a former NFL-Pro Quarterback in a dress, here’s more of Bobby, Hamming it up. Gold is becoming on him.

He’s had a little of the nectar of the gods early Sunday, don’t you think? Speaking of beer, a friend of mine sent me a link to this article that really does a nice job of capturing what the Saints Fans are all about. Miami, get ready.

This quote goes a long way to getting it right:

Hugging strangers is a proud Who Dat tradition, right up there with crying when we win. Most sports fans cry when their teams lose. Not us. We’ve been losing gracefully and with good humor for 43 years. Tragedy and disappointment don’t faze us. It’s success that makes us go to pieces.

Hurricane Katrina? We got that under control. The Saints in the Super Bowl? SOMEBODY CALL A PARAMEDIC!!!

So anyway, don’t let the tears of joy freak you out. We’re just … disoriented.

Finally, from that same article, two quotes that made me bust out laughing, because they are so very true.

It’s Carnival season in New Orleans (that’s Mardi Gras to you), and we’ll be taking the celebration on the road. So don’t be startled if you walk past us and we throw stuff at you; that’s just our way of saying hello.

And look. When we ask you for a go-cup, be nice to us. We don’t even know what ‘open container law’ means. Is that anything like ‘last call’?

Win or Lose, I’m going to New Orleans for the Win-Or-Lose Victory Parade – me and 200,000 of my closest friends.