My Weekend in NOLA: The Saints in the Super Bowl!

[Tommy R]

I posted this to another forum and thought some of y'all here may appreciate it, too. I'm originally from New Orleans and we went back home for the Super Bowl....

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Hey y'all,

My girlfriend Anne (who is also originally from New Orleans) told me months ago: "I made a promise to myself years ago that if the Saints ever make it to the Super Bowl that no matter where I live or what is going on in my life, I will be in the French Quarter to watch the game." Pretty strong words coming from a girl who doesn't even watch football. So why would she say such a thing? She loves New Orleans and knows how much that scenario would mean for the people of our favorite city. That's why...

Fast forward several months and you guessed it. For the first time in their disappointing history, hell hath indeed frozen over and pigs have taken flight. Our beloved Saints have finally......finally......made it to the big show. No trip to Miami was in our future, however. Our plan was to drive to NOLA after work on Friday, spend all day in the Quarter on Saturday just having fun, and spend Sunday focused on scouting out a bar to watch the game. Our only requirement was that we needed to watch it on Bourbon Street. If by the grace of God the Saints win this game, we will need to be in the heart of it.

A couple made the trek with us from Austin and the husband had never been to NOLA before. It would be one unparalleled weekend for him....and the rest of us. We also met some old high school and college friends of mine while we were there. In the next couple posts I will try to help you experience what we did over the course of the weekend. If this doesn't interest you, feel free to move on. If, however, you're curious what it was like for a NOLA native to experience coming home to watch the Super Bowl featuring the Saints....well then read on, my friend.

We arrived approx. 1am to our hotel and promptly dropped off the luggage in the rooms and headed to the bar downstairs for a drink or three. Hotel? The Queen & Crescent Hotel on Camp near Poydras. It was decent, but not great. However, the price of $99/night was! Around 2:30 we called it a night...

Saturday morning we got up and wandered through the Quarter. First thing I notice is everyone is wearing black and gold. The city is Saints crazy in every conceivable way! I'm being serious when I say it was difficult to spot someone who was not wearing something pertaining to the Saints. And I loved it! The local artists were into it, as well. Tons of Saints paintings all over. And of course, more fleur de lis' than you could imagine...

Street performers were in full force, as usual.

But no time to lolly gag! We had a date with some cafe au lait and beignets!

Pirates Alley next to St. Louis cathedral in Jackson Square.

Behind the cathedral is a statue of Jesus with his arms outstretched. In Katrina, he lost his left index finger and thumb. The decision was made to not repair the statue because the belief is Jesus lost those fingers when he flicked Katrina from the city. As you may know, Katrina weakened and turned slightly just before landfall into New Orleans. If not for this, the destruction in the city would've been significantly worse than it was.

Some random buildings in the Quarter decorated for Mardi Gras and the Saints...

Saw this and needed a pic of it:

Why yes, I sure do as a matter of fact.

 

[Tommy R]

Continuing on Saturday....

Before we knew it, we were ready for lunch. We opted for Napoleon House, which was reportedly built to offer refuge for Napoleon.

Not sure how widespread this is, but there's a song that's become synonymous with the Saints. In the Superdome, they play "Stand Up and Get Crunk" after every touchdown. No, I don't know how it started, but there's at least two versions of the song that are played nearly non stop in many of the local bars. These guys here were just driving up and down the Quarter blasting it.

Since we had a New Orleans newbie with us, we had to do the obligatory stop at Pat O's for Hurricanes and since there was no line for the Piano Bar inside, we stepped in and had a few more drinks. There's one or two steins in there. It was around 3 pm and the place was packed. When we left at 4 or so, there was probably a 30-60 minute wait to get in.

Safety first....or something like that. Getting ready for the crowds who will eventually be on that balcony.

Then we stepped into The Beach. Not my kind of place, to be honest. Very "college-y" and drunk. Entertaining for people watching, but little else.

On the plus side, they do have a mechanical whale to ride. I saw no one last more than 3 seconds...and it moved slooowly.

Is it a new thing in dance clubs to have people pretend they're swinging a jump rope and people jump in the middle of it? These guys were doing it and then some girl decided to do the worm through it. I wonder if she realizes what's been tracked onto that floor from the gutters outside.

We strolled out of there and it was finally getting dark, about 5:45 if I recall. We were hungry so we headed over to Mother's. Shrimp and hot sausage poboys for everyone else. Roast beef poboy with debris for me, thankyouverymuch. On the way out, there was a parade....Krewe of Sparta, I believe. We watched, caught some beads, and headed back into the Quarter. (sorry, no good parade pics)

We went to the Chart Room for some good atmosphere and cheap drinks and to meet some more old friends who were also out celebrating the Saints season. No pics in there 'cause it was so dark, but we saw something somewhat unique on the way back to the hotel around midnight.

Gentlemen, feast your eyes on this. I'm not even going to say a word.

And thus ended our first full day back in The Crescent City..... Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday!

 

[Tommy R]

Super Bowl Sunday. The game is in Miami and while I'm sure there's a lot of action down there, the party is right here in New Orleans. And I thought the electricity in the air was strong yesterday. It pales in comparison to this day. Our big concern for the day was where to watch the game. We want to watch it in a bar on Bourbon because if the Saints pull off this upset, that's where the celebration will be at its peak. Here's a few pics as we walked to the Quarter...

For those of you who may not know, the NFL got pissy about local vendors putting the "Who Dat" saying on anything with ANY kind of representation of the Saints...the color, the fleur de lis, anything. They claimed they own the phrase "Who Dat". Cease and desist orders were issued. Hell was raised. The NFL eventually stepped back saying it was a misunderstanding. Whatever...

Saw the Mercedes again...

Best banner we saw all weekend long. Remember this balcony.

On our way to check out the Krewe of Barkus. It's a dog parade. Normally, I'm not a fan of dressing up dogs. With few exceptions, most dogs seemed to be okay with it. Maybe because it was keeping them warm?

The NFL made no friends from Saints fans recently. I did my best to buy shirts with no NFL trademark.

Bourbon St. several hours before game time...

 

[Tommy R]

So there we were a few hours from game time and we still weren't sure where we were going to watch the game. We're calling and texting friends to see what they were doing, but nothing concrete. Then my friend who once worked for a local beer distributor made a call. "I think I found us a place to watch the game," he told us. That would turn out to be a bit of an understatement. What he had actually done was get us into a private loft with multiple TVs, catering, private bathrooms(!), and all the Budweiser products we wanted. It has a balcony, too! And the best part? It was ON Bourbon Street!

We couldn't believe it. You'd think we just struck gold or something. It was all we could do to contain ourselves. Not only was it on Bourbon Street, but it was in the heart of it! Two buildings over from Rick's Cabaret for those who know where that is. Remember the balcony I posted earlier? The one with the banner that read: "Our City. Our Home. Finish Strong." Yep, that's it! Here's a few pics prior to game time....

We were slightly jovial....

Across the street were some hotels, not bars. As a result, there was a bit of breathing room in front of us....but not in front of some of the other places!

The barricades on the right up ahead were because of the repairs being done on Tropical Isle, which suffered from a fire months before. Note the crowd thinning. Game time was nearing....

People were stopping constantly to get pics of the banner on the balcony. We felt so incredibly lucky to be where we were. For this group of native New Orleanians, it was heaven. No two ways about it....

 

[Tommy R]

Game time. Super Bowl Sunday. And the Saints are in it. An unprecedented moment and possibly the most anticipated in New Orleans history. This team means that much to this city. You've all heard the stories and know the history. In 43 seasons, 9 were winning. Only one playoff win before now and only 5 opportunities. The team that used to be a laughing stock (to everyone else). The fans who used to wear bags over their heads and their team was the "Aints." Aints no more...

I'll be honest. It meant more to me to see the Saints IN the Super Bowl than anything else. If they win, I said, that's just icing on the cake. Win or lose, there's going to be a party 'cause this city loves and is so incredibly proud of this team...their team. But as game time approached, I began to want more. Shocker, huh?

You all saw the game. The first half was very much back and forth. The start concerned us going down 0-10. But by halftime we were feeling more confident. Even if we don't win this at least we showed that we can hang strong. That might've been enough for me.

Onside kick?!?! Are you kidding me?? That said something to me....and I think to many Saints fans. We weren't in the Super Bowl just to be on TV. The Saints wanted this win. Bad. Fast forward through the second half.... The mood was tense. We got concerned as Manning started his drive that could tie the game. When Tracy Porter intercepted and ran it back to make the gap 14 points with a bit more than 3:00 minutes left, we began to see it... The Saints may actually win the Super Bowl. Oh my God, the Saints may actually WIN the Super Bowl! The celebration lasted awhile, but things calmed significantly when Manning worked his last drive. This is a great team (the Colts) and you can't count them out yet.

But when they missed the 4th down conversion we knew it was real. Not that it felt real, mind you. This is a team that has largely sucked for the last 43 years (since they were founded) and you'll excuse us if we don't exactly know how to deal with success.... As a result, grown men were crying. Everyone was hugging. It didn't matter what was being said 'cause you couldn't hear anything over the roar.

We stood there hugging and cheering in disbelief. Bourbon Street was filling up....fast. We headed down there and all the same hugging and high fiving and cheering we were doing upstairs with our friends, we were now doing this with complete strangers. We saw the complete gamut of emotions... Some yelled like banshees. More hugging. More crying. Some stood there in silence not fully comprehending what they had just witnessed.

"WHO DAT!"

"We did it!"

"The Saints won!"

Then these fliers rained down from our balcony.

Speaking of our balcony. Before we knew it, the banner had been changed.

We eventually made our way back upstairs. It was then I finally got to meet Morten Andersen (ex-Saints kicker and all time leading NFL scorer). He was at the party the whole time, but I was too pre-occupied!

Back to the balcony!

Around midnight or 1am we made the trek back to the hotel....utterly exhausted, but believe it or not....sober. This was too important to witness. Don't get me wrong, we were drinking, but not "that much."

That's it. The next day we made the tiring drive home in tons of traffic. But not before we saw the thousands of people who had parked at the airport to witness the team's homecoming. I think they just partied through the night.

I hope this isn't the case, but if you're sick of hearing the story of this victory.....or what it means to New Orleans....or maybe you're tired of "who dat".... Please let us have our moment. We realize this victory won't repair levees. We know it won't remove corrupt or incompetent government officials. We're not naive. But this has brought the city together and has given everyone there something to be happy about and proud of. After all, it's been 43 years in the making and hosting OTHER teams in the Super Bowl. So please indulge us and let us celebrate. Better yet, celebrate with us. Thanks.

 

[JeremyH]

Great pics! I've been to NO quite a few times and they brought back some memories....

 

[Sydwaiz]

No tit pics? FAIL!


Looked like a good time for all. I've been there 3 times and can't wait to go back. Twice for New Years and once in the middle of August after Katrina to work on a Habitat neighborhood. My wife and I fawking love it there. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

 

[Tommy R]

No tit pics? FAIL!

Ha! Nah, it was mostly locals who were there this weekend. It's the tourists who flash for beads.

Looked like a good time for all. I've been there 3 times and can't wait to go back. Twice for New Years and once in the middle of August after Katrina to work on a Habitat neighborhood. My wife and I fawking love it there. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Thanks for coming to help! I couldn't get off work at the time so all I could do was donate money to help out. Fortunately, most of my family had already moved to Baton Rouge. Now my brother and sister and I are looking into buying a place in the Quarter so we'll have a place to stay when we visit. "thumbsup"

 

[Stormin2u]

Loved your thread and those great party pictures. NO is a great city and one of my favorite places to visit. Glad the Saint won they their fans and the city deserved it I couldn't be happier and I'm from Minnesota. "thumbsup"

 

[CuriousGeorge]

I like the Defend NOLA shirt, not seen too many people with them outside of New Orleans. When I was down there during Halloween, we passed the same guy with the Saints mercedes. You can't be in NOLA and drink Bud, that's just wrong on every level...either Dixie or Abita.

I would love to have been down there for the game. The city is one of the best there is for everything.

 

[Tommy R]

I like the Defend NOLA shirt, not seen too many people with them outside of New Orleans. When I was down there during Halloween, we passed the same guy with the Saints mercedes. You can't be in NOLA and drink Bud, that's just wrong on every level...either Dixie or Abita.

I would love to have been down there for the game. The city is one of the best there is for everything.

Well, considering Budweiser was paying for our night, we felt a bit obligated to drink their (free) stuff. It was definitely Dixie and Amber the rest of the time, though!

Love my Defend New Orleans stuff. I've got a few of the shirts in different styles and so does my g/f.

 

[CuriousGeorge]

Well, considering Budweiser was paying for our night, we felt a bit obligated to drink their (free) stuff. It was definitely Dixie and Amber the rest of the time, though!

Love my Defend New Orleans stuff. I've got a few of the shirts in different styles and so does my g/f.

I'll let it slide since free. The other tshirt company I like from Nola is dirty coast but they don't make big guys shirts lol. My gf is from Nola also ( last lived in algers point).

 

[THE PARTS GUY]

Looks like you had a blast. Nice pics."thumbsup""thumbsup"

 

[Tommy R]

I'll let it slide since free. The other tshirt company I like from Nola is dirty coast but they don't make big guys shirts lol. My gf is from Nola also ( last lived in algers point).

I'll have to look up Dirty Coast. Hadn't heard of them... I was born in Terry Town on the West Bank, but moved to Metairie when I was 3. Very familiar with Algiers.

 

[Tommy R]

Looks like you had a blast. Nice pics."thumbsup""thumbsup"

Thanks, man... Yeah, it was a truly incredible experience unlike any I've had before.

 

[CuriousGeorge]

I'll have to look up Dirty Coast. Hadn't heard of them... I was born in Terry Town on the West Bank, but moved to Metairie when I was 3. Very familiar with Algiers.

I had to ask her where that was lol. They have some funny shirts, and since you from there you will get the humor of them. My fav is making groceries.