[Squeebee]

Ok - I finally got to read the whole thing on Super-Bowl Eve... You know - you make me want to cheer for the Saints now Mikey! Sounds like you guys had an amazing time (and yes - good choice on taking your wife! Men do learn what we really mean!)

I remember watching that game and seeing the guys on the sidelines measuring the amount of noise in the stadium... must have been incredible!

Good luck tomorrow!!!

[mikedcabo]

Thanks-everyone around here is so nervous it's funny. No work got done last week and I expect if we win the schools will close tomorrow. There is a big parade planned for Tuesday which will be huge. Of course we want to win, but the good thing is we feel like we have already and the team will get lots of love and props regardless.

People have come from all over the country to be in New Orleans this weekend-you can't find a hotel room anywhere.
Another interesting thing I'm hearing is about how many "Who Dats" that are in Miami. They apparently have a great attitude with the colts fans they meet. They are so excited they tell them come party with us before and after the game (we'll only hate you during the game) Miami is over run with Saint's fans. Some of the Colt's fans are walking around with there mouth open when they see stuff like lots of people cooking crawfish ,a guy running around naked-painted gold, and everyone asking them to sit down and have a beer with them.

For home "tailgaiting" Jo we usually have fried chicken and or hot wings, gumbo (guess your version might be chili)
shrimp cheesecake, crabmeat dip, kingcake and all the usual chips etc. Some folks will cook jambalaya and a few boil crawfish. Although it's early in the crawfish season, the folks tailgaiting in Miami seem to have no troble finding them.

[xinuxunil]

WHO DAT!!!

[mikedcabo]

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww 31-17
That was awesome!!!!!
Even in my town if you walked outside you could here people out in their yards screaming and the nearby firehouse ran the sirens for 5 minutes. You could hear cars all over honking horns and fireworks going off. And the scenes of the French Quarter in New Orleans looked bigger than Mardi Gras Day!
It will be a great week!!!!

[Squeebee]

Dat the Saints!!! Whoa... what a game! After the 1st quarter I was afraid it was gonna be all Colts... then Bam... here come the Saints! Then the onside kick at the start of the 2nd half! Wow!

Enjoy your day off Mikey! (My hubby has always thought the Superbowl warranted a holiday day! )

[xinuxunil]

We had fresh King Cake at work today, shipped straight from Laffayette! That was a great game, 'specially with the Saints win!

[JoSmiley]

WOOOHOOOO! That was a great win! We didn't get much work done today with everyone talking about the Saints - that was great! Sounds like you guys are doin' the party right Mikey!

[Arturo]

I gotta tell ya.......if I were a bettin' man (and I am sometimes) I would have probably bet the Colts. They're seasoned, been there several times before, know how to win the big one and it's pretty hard to stop their offense when it's on a roll. But Cossy and I really really wanted the Saints. We wanted it for the team, for the franchise and mostly for the city. So we cheered but not much in the first quarter. The Colts seemed to move the ball at will and it looked like my fears had come to pass. The stats were hugely lopsided. Then the Saints shook off the butterflies and something snapped them in the second quarter. We were feeling better about this. Then at the end of the half, [Saints coach] Payton goes for it on 4 and goal from the 3 instead of kicking the field goal. I loved it.......for a few reasons. It tells your team you have confidence in them, and it encourages them to play for the win. When players have a sudden sense of bravery and boldness, it empowers them. This is one of the differences between a good coach and a great one. Also, it was a low risk gamble. If you don't make it, the Colts take over the ball on the 3 with a few minutes left. Defense holds 'em.....they punt and the Saints get the ball back in pretty good field position and get the field goal anyway.......but now they're feeling like they can win this game. You can tell yourself that before the game, but when something causes you to really believe it you become a force.

Then comes the onside kick to start the second half.........that was HUGE! Guts once again. They get the ball, score on that drive and suddenly they're a different team mentally than the one that ran onto the field in the beginning. Then they go for 2 after that last offensive touchdown to put them up by 7. Smart and gutsy once again. And I'm so glad they challenged that call because I thought he was in too. When I saw the replay there was no doubt.

Here's an interesting snippet from an article:

Saints coach Sean Payton had received some crucial words of wisdom from his mentor, Bill Parcells, in their numerous conversations less than one week before the Super Bowl that he obviously took to heart.

That advice to Payton?

"You are going to have to have (guts) to win this game," Parcells told the Daily News Monday. "You can't coach scared in the big games. You've got to try to win."

Parcells insisted he in no way was taking credit for Payton's game-changing decision to order up the onside kick to start the third quarter with the Saints trailing 10-6; in fact, he was trying to distance himself from any impact he's had on Payton's success. Still, Parcells' influence is unmistakable.

As a matter of fact, he was home watching the game and had no idea Payton would use the start of the second half to implement his philosophy.

"I liked it," Parcells said.

He thought to himself that Payton had big guts, or something to that effect.

What a game! Thrilling, gut wrenching, nail biting, jump-up-screaming.......as good or better than the NFC Championship game.

Congratulations Saints and New Orleans!! You had this one coming......well done!!

[mikedcabo]

The parade last night (we watched on TV) was awesome. The crowds looked bigger than Mardi Gras Day. Peyton held the trophy up the whole time blowing kisses or patting his heart and pointing to everyone in the crowd. These guys are all like that-smart(they study film like it's a final exam) gutsy and surprisingly humble. There was a lot of love last night in both directions.