It has been a week since the Saints won the Superbowl and I am still excited about it. It is fun to see a team you have rooted for, for a long time win big! It feels like I can relax and continue to enjoy Saints games because the pressure is off them to finally win. Things will be different next year. For one, less games will be on at 12 noon right after Sunday Church. They’ll be more “primetime” and probably have late games if not Sunday or Monday Night Games. There is talk of a Thanksgiving Day game versus the Cowboys. That’d be weird and fun. I’m liking seeing all this Saints gear around town. I’ve never really felt like there was a lot of options to buy Saints stuff. Now, we should see an influx of quality merchandise.

I ordered my Superbowl Championship shirt and I’m waiting for it to come in. I’m very excited about wearing it. It’s the only real chance for a team that I root for to win. My Alma mater doesn’t qualify for a BCS championship nor did any of my high school teams qualify for a state or national championship. I like to watch LSU play, but I don’t really have a vested interest in them winning. I’m happy for the State when they win, but I root for LA Tech most of the time. So, I don’t own any LSU apparel nor do I really care to. I’m happy watching their games and rooting for them most of the time. It’s just all the more enjoyable to see the Saints take home a Superbowl trophy after so many years of mediocrity and worse. It’s neat to see your team and your state be recognized as #1 and not the other guys. So, even a week after all the festivities have died down, I’m still just as excited. I’ve rewatched the game twice this week to really take it in. I hope that they make a run for it next year, but this is a relief and a lot of fun. Who Dat?!

The Saints are headed to the SuperBowl after a very close, nail-biter of a game yesterday evening. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it is really still surreal to think that the Saints, not Cowboys, Eagles, Cardinals, Seahawks or some other NFC team will be fighting for the Lombardi trophy. It is just hard to believe that the former “Aints” are now ready to give it a go at a SuperBowl title.

Some questions that linger in this arm-chair quarterback’s mind are:

• Can the Saints stay focused through the hype and excitement of Pre-SuperBowl? The Colts have been there and done that. Ironically, the last time they were there, the Saints had just lost in the NFC championship to the Bears.
• Can Reggie Bush continue to play physical and upfield in his running style? They say he is healthy and he is obviously playing a more pivotal role in these last 2 games.
• Can the Saints convert on 3rd and short? If they run the ball will they run side to side or pound it up the middle. Will the Saints make good play calls on 3rd downs. It seems like 3rd and short has been more tricky than third and 9 as of late.
• Can the Saints convert turnovers into touchdowns and not just field goals? If you get turnovers against a Peyton Manning-led team, you better make them count. Couldn’t notch all those Vikings turnovers into points in the NFC championship game.
• Will the Saints fall on fumbles and not try to pick them up? Also will they not bail out the Colts with pass interference or roughing the passer calls after seemingly a 3rd down stop.
  

I am very excited to watch this game. I think it is a great marquee for a Superbowl. These teams are good for ratings. It will be weird to actually have a “dog in the fight” and not just to be watching and rooting for the perceived underdog from some other city. I hope Drew Brees gets it done and that it is franchise re-defining game. I just don’t know if I can take a close game like that in the Superbowl too. The Saints would need to be ahead 14-17 points with 2 minutes left for me to feel semi-comfortable. They Saints have good fourth quarters and finish halves strong, but so do the Colts. Here’s hoping for an even more exciting superbowl than last year.