Super Bowl Party (of one)

I can't really explain how happy I was to watch the Saints win their first Super Bowl. The game aired at about midnight our time, so the plan was to take a nap that afternoon... prepare ourselves for the 4 am victory dance. I fell asleep reading (no offense Amy Tan). I think we were excited, because Ryan took this picture. When he fell asleep after me, I did the same. So, here's a look at our pre-game activities... probably very different from yours in the US.














The problem with our plan... Ryan didn't wake up. He did, however, turn over.


I tried to wake him once in the beginning. Our slingbox wasn't working properly, and it froze when the Saints had the ball. I was pissed, and "asked" him to fix it. Afterward, he went back to sleep.

I wasn't holding back... cheering, pouncing on the sofa, yelling at the tv. Nothing phased him. Except for when the Saints put their first points on the board. I had to celebrate and this is the result. See the eyebrow scrunch? He wasn't as excited. After this picture was taken, he said "okay, I'm going to sleep now," and went to bed.
And it's a real shame, because that's when the game started to turn around. When the two point conversion ruling went in our favor, I felt I had to capture the moment. No one to take the picture? No problem. We're number 1.

Then, the most unbelievable things started happening. The game looked like it could actually be won... by the Saints!?! This was too good. I felt like I needed to do more, be more in the moment. I brought some beads with me from our Christmas trip, thinking I might throw a NOLA style party one day... gumbo, homemade king cake, that sort of thing. Anyway, I remembered that it was all in the closet, and I thought, well, it needed to come out. This was a party after all. So, now I wasn't just cheering in a Swiss apartment at 3 in the morning by myself... I was doing it with a Mardi Gras boa! Much better.

I don't know how to describe what came next. They won! The New Orleans Saints won! Even now I can't believe it, but I knew then that I wanted to remember it. I was one excited, Saints shirt and PJ wearing, old beads and boa donning, PROUD, proud, Saints fan. It doesn't get much better than this.
People talk about how this process gave New Orleans hope. I personally think they had hope long before this season. And I couldn't be happier about them being in the spotlight like this. I wanted this sentimental, shoulders back, proud of where I came from kind of feeling to last, so I decided to wear my Saints shirt to an Italian class the next day. I started by introducing myself to the French guy sitting next to me, saying "I'm from New Orleans, you know, we just won the Super Bowl? See my shirt?" It was a wasted effort. He didn't know enough English to really know what I was saying, nor was he even aware that the Super Bowl had taken place. I kept trying, though, and finally found someone who knew what I was talking about. He even gave me a high five. A high five from a Romanian! Only here... pre-game naps and Romanian high fives. I'll never forget when the Saints won the Super Bowl. THE SAINTS WON THE SUPER BOWL!?! Ahhhhhh, still feels good.