Wordless Wednesday: Oude Kerk

"IT'S GOOD, IT'S GOOD, IT'S GOOD!!! PIGS HAVE FLOWN!! HELL HAS FROZEN OVER!!! THE SAINTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!"*

It’s been pretty exciting in southern Louisiana the past couple weeks. You may have heard our team is going to the super bowl for the first time in history and we are pretty pumped up about the whole thing. I realize there are plenty of fair-weather fans out there, but many of us have been waiting a long time for this. Personally I’ve been waiting 27 years, but my dad has been waiting since 1967, when the franchise was founded. While I was growing up my dad, some of my family, and close family friends had season tickets, and gathered at rotating parties for all the away games. Basically I grew up on Saints (and LSU) football. Granted I didn’t care so much when I was younger. Like many things I took this for granted as a child, and didn’t really care about football, but now, as an adult, am very happy to have the history. I’ll even admit that I was a little emotional when we beat the Vikings a couple weeks ago. The tears didn’t actually fall, but I was definitely misty eyed. Honestly, it’s still a little surreal, and I’ve had to pinch myself a few times over the past couple weeks just to make sure it’s happening.

The people of New Orleans have many characteristics. Among them is fierce determination and loyalty. When our team sucked we stood behind them. Even during the losing ‘80s, the years of the “Aints”, when Buddy D advised the fans to wear paper bags over their heads to all the home games. Buddy D vowed that if the saints ever made it to the superbowl he’d walk down Bourbon Street wearing a dress. Unfortunately, Buddy D passed away a few years back, but Bobby Hebert (that’s pronounced a-bear) and the men of New Orleans made good on his promise and had a dress parade down Bourbon St last weekend. Now, if there is one thing us New Orleanians are good at it’s partying. Our most famous street is Bourbon Street, ‘nuff said. We are so good at partying that I did not learn any of the following until adulthood, when I moved away from the Big Easy:

1. Bars close? The first time I was at a bar and they announced last call at 2am I had to ask someone what the hell that meant. The quarter never shuts down, we can, and will, party 24/7.
2. Only in southern Louisiana can you buy liquor/beer/wine a couple isles over from baby diapers and potato chips. I had no idea what a liquor store was because we always got our alcohol at the grocery store.
3. They don’t have drive through daiquiris everywhere? They are ALL over the Nola metropolitan area. It’s not an open container until you put the straw in! You can even buy it by the gallon.
4. Dry Counties? Really? There are actually places that ban alcohol? That should be a federal crime….
5. Mardi Gras is not a national holiday?!?! Everything shuts down for Mardi Gras. It’s one of our biggest displays of drunken debauchery parties of the year, and I assumed everyone else celebrated too. We have a fairly large catholic population so this is our last hurrah before lent begins.

I guess I should mention that these days I’m kind of an old lady. My partying days have all but ceased now because I usually go to bed early and am ready to leave the bar by midnight. It’s kinda sad actually. However, when the situation arises I know what to do, and this weekend I fully intend to get my party on!

I Believe!


*Title borrowed from a statement at the end of NFC Championship game by local sportscaster Jim Henderson