After the Superbowl / Drew Breezy's house

We woke up Monday morning still in disbelief.

Little Adam, like most New Orleanians and Louisianans, had waited his entire life for this moment.

He cried and cried, unable to grasp that it had really happened.



But cruising by Drew Brees's house was proof of the magic that had taken place.






It was like the Princess Diana memorial. But in a good way.








I left Drew the pretty gold football necklace I had caught in one of the parades.



So, this will probably be my last post about the Superbowl.

I'm sure a lot of non-football fans have been thinking, "um...it was just a football game..." and I have to admit I probably would too if I had not come down here and fallen in love with this city over the past year and a half.

Now though, having adopted the Gulf Coast as my third coast, I realize how important and transformative this victory was.

When you think about the relationship between the Saints and the Gulf Coast and the city of New Orleans, it's more than just a football game and more than just a football team. All the hopes and dreams and struggles of the community were reflected in this game.

Hurricane Katrina came and went, and I'm sure it's been out of the minds of most Americans for several years now. But New Orleans has continued to struggle over the past four years. Katrina was, after all, one of the worst natural disasters in American history, destroying 70,000 homes and displacing many more.

But since 2005, the Saints have been the rallying force behind the entire region. And the impact they have had on the spirit of the people in this area cannot be measured.

I've never seen a city with such immense spirit or pride. This city and team embrace one another in a way that is unique in all the world. Sure, other cities have pride in their teams, but in those cities there are probably plenty of people who are pretty apathetic. Here in New Orleans, every single person is a rabid Saints fan. There are no passive viewers. Which is probably why 40,000 people showed up just to welcome the Saints home when they landed at around noon on Monday.











And while most professional athletes discuss themselves and their gifts at post-game press conferences, the Saints invariably talk about their city and what its recovery has meant to them and to the nation.

Even on Oprah today, Drew said, "I feel like the energy of the country was with us. Regardless of whether or not you were Saints fan before [the Superbowl], I think everyone was able to relate to everything our city has been through over the last four years and what our team means to the city and what a win would do for them and I am so glad we were able to give them that championship because they deserved it."

New Orleans is city. But it's also a community. And while there are many celebrities who live here, in town they're just really well-known residents and are generally left alone. Which is why Brad and Angie live right in the French Quarter, and why it's not that weird that a superhero like Drew Brees lives in a relatively normal house just down the street from Semmes and Smershy.

And then a little further down St. Charles Avenue is the new Real World House!



.............................................

So following the insanity of last night, we really needed to feast on some super fatty food.

Solution: CHINA DOLL!






OMG there was so much food and it was so YUMMMY.





And we got an interesting array of fortunes.





Congratulations, People of New Orleans!

See you again soon!

Knock Knock! ...... WHO DAT?!!??!?!?!?

And then came the Superbowl.

It was such a perfect day. Everything was going to go our way.



Masses of crowds gathered in the French Quarter to literally Pre-Game.





We stopped to pick up Semmesey and Katie at their cousins' apartment.




Then headed into the streets.



Picked up some celebratory cigars...



And practiced our yay-faces.



Things were getting rowdier by the second and the anticipation was palpable. This was going to be an unforgettable evening, regardless of the outcome.






Adam and I bumped into Chelsea, his favorite person in the world.



We also ran into Miss Ashley - welder by day, fabulous drag queen by night!



5:30 = game time.

We all split off to our respective viewing experiences. Katie and Semmes to their house party, and Adam and I to our favorite bar, Good Friends.



Here. We. Gooooooo!



The energy at Good Friends was amazing.



People cheered their faces off for every single tackle.



I don't know if you know this, but this is the first time I have ever been interested in a football game. I think it might the first time I've ever even paid attention.

I had no idea what was going on; god bless Madam Adam for patiently explaining to me what things like "1st and 10" and "onside kick" mean.

There was definitely a moment, though, where I cheered for the wrong team and you could have heard crickets chirping as the entire bar just turned and looked at me incredulously.



(The Colts had completed a pass and their guy had caught it but then got tackled so I was cheering because he had gotten tackled but apparently the completion is a good thing and I definitely should not have been screaming "WHOOOOO DATTTT!!!")

I looked helplessly in the direction of my friends but they had already just kind of slinked off into the darkness pretending like they had no idea who I was.

Good thing something truly yay happened right after to take the attention off me!




Every time the Saints scored they gave out free shots.





Several shots were had.





Soooo fun!

Soooooo wastedface!



This is a fun shot that captures me as I spill my drink all over someone's head...



And by the time Chelsea reappeared Adam was so O.O.C. (out of control) that he decided he wanted to simulate being breech-birthed.






After which he stole someones party hat!




And then took off his clothes.





If you watched the game. You remember the game-changing interception that cemented the victory.

Here's a video I found of one bar's reaction. Amazing.



Now multiply the above by 10,000 and that's what it was like all night long on Bourbon St.






We had won.




Everyone immediately spilled out into the streets in celebration.





It was IN-SANE.

Prior to this Superbowl, election night was the craziest most deliriously happy group of people I'd ever seen. This was bigger.



I literally spent an hour just walking up Bourbon Street high-fiving everyone I made eye contact with.






I had to have hugged at least 50 strangers. This city has spirit unlike any other.

IT WAS SO INCREDIBLE.










Somehow I even managed to stumble back into Semmesey and Katie and Sam and Aliisa.










And somewhere, on some news station, I was on TV.



Katie claims that tried to take credit for my presence resulting in the Saints' victory and that I then proceeded to jump around chanting. "I! Am! The Best! .... I! Am! The Best!"

(I don't doubt it.)




Oooh and the Prancing Rockets were performing outside The Itch.





Late night we ended up at The Pub, where we made new friends.



And were joined by Khalil's family.






It was a historic moment. And one of most incredible days of my life.



I LOVE NEW ORLEANS!



Here's my slideshow recap of the whole weekend:

(The password is "whodat")

Superbowl 2010 Slideshow - Who Dat! from DK on Vimeo.