Picture This...

Over the past few weeks I have found myself saying, "Ever since I was a little girl, I pictured..." in reference to the possibility that this day would finally come.  Each year as the Saints started training camp I would tell my dad, "this is the year."  Of course that was in the hope filled days of August, before reality set in that'd we'd be facing another disappointing season capped off with the most common of all New Orleans phrases "wait till next year" heard all around you.  And again at the start of every year I truly believed it.  I am and always have been a believer.  It is that kind of faith in something so closely linked to your heart than can cause such bitter pain that you want so badly to have grown up a Steelers fan where winning was the only thing you ever knew.  But I think if we, The Who Dat Nation, had not known such disappointment the pure joy of this season would have also never been realized.  It is the only way to describe what you see in the faces of Saints fans and what you feel in your heart.  JOY!

Ever since I was a little girl, I pictured watching the Boys of the Black and Gold play in the Superbowl.  I have watched a million versions of this great game, and each time I pictured what it would be like to see the Fleur de Lis on the helmets of the team representing the NFC.  Ever since I was a little girl, I pictured the announcer calling the names of our players as they recited the starting line-up...  And at Quarterback from Purdue University, Drew Brees!!!!!  The crowd goes wild!  Drew runs through the tunnel! Children all over the country see our uniforms and think of New Orleans as a place of greatness.  Ever since I was a little girl, I pictured hearing the National Anthem being sung as the cameras closed in on the face of our players.  The faces of New Orleans. Win or lose, these are the moments I have always wanted to see.  And here we are.  In just three hours, we'll be watching the dreams of a million New Orleanians.  Men and women of all ages who will take their place in front of their televisions and see the dreams of their childhood become a reality.

It is funny, because I live and breathe by the success of the Saints, but tonight I don't want them to win for us, the fans.  I want them to win for themselves.  As a thank you for choosing us.  At a time when it felt like no one in the world believed in our great city, not even us, a few great men breathed life into us again by saying they believed in New Orleans.  Coach Sean Peyton, Linebacker Scott Fujita, and Quarterback Drew Brees could have all found somewhere else to coach or play, yet each have said they saw coming to New Orleans as a calling.  They saw how much the people here needed something to hold onto, something to believe in and they wanted to be that something.  How do you ever thank them for that?  I want them to win so that they can complete their journey in the leap of faith they were willing to take for us.

I leave you with this beautiful thought that Scott Fujita's wife recently shared.

"The people of New Orleans love the Saints not because they provide a distraction from their fall, but because they are a reflection of their rise."

Ever since I was a little girl, I pictured this day.  Who knew it would be so sweet?