New Orleans Saints Win Super Bowl 44!

Dickinson County, Kansas, was the scene for a three generation Super Bowl gathering on Sunday, Feb. 7^th. Ann Hodges, her two sons, one daughter in law and a guest watched the game as four of her grandchildren played. One son had also brought his Boxer that even watched part of the game in between lounging on everybody's feet.

The menu was simple...old fashioned, Southern style country ribs, mustard potato salad and seasoned green beans with sweet tea and several types of soda to drink.

Ann, a native of Louisiana, has always been a football fan and has wanted to see the Saints make it to the Super Bowl "ever since we got a team together" (1967). She remarked "New Orleans will be partying long after Mardi Gras ends and the party started tonight!". You can call her a die-hard Saints fan and she, unlike some of her friends back home, has never given up the hope that she would someday see her favorite team go all the way. When asked the best way to describe how she felt when the final score was announced, she said, "I'm smilin' like a mule that's been eatin' saw- briars!" The smile she wore was from ear to ear and it was more infectious that any virus concocted by nature.

One of the most surprising and exhilarating plays of the game came at the beginning of the second half. The kick that went to the left and the possession changing back to the Saints caused yelling and hurrahs all around.

The two point conversion by the Saints that was almost denied had us cheering, laughing and congratulating each other.

Lastly, the 74 yard run to the Saint's end zone after the interception was like frosting on the cake.

Final score...31 Saints, 17 Colts.

Ann said that she could die happy knowing that her team had finally made it to the Super Bowl and won. It is history for the Saints to make it, it is more history that the Saints won and the Saints' kicker made history as the first to ever kick three field goals over 40 yards in one Super Bowl game. Tonight was full of history making events for New Orleans and I am sure it will not be soon forgotten.

The eldest son enjoys football but isn't a true Saints fan yet he emphatically did not want to see the Colts win the game so he rooted for his mother's favorite. The youngest son is not a fan of football but he wanted to support his mother and rooted for her team as well.

The commercials that were spread across the three hour plus event sometimes were met with impulsive laughter and, at times, questionable reaction.

Betty White appeared in one of the ads and it seemed to be one of the most humorous.

Commercials from "Denny's" restaurants had the laughter capacity on high for the thought of panicked chickens running around while screaming in terror at the thought of being overworked. Don't be surprised if you hear someone repeat, "It's a bad day to be a chicken" just because it was comical in the commercial.

The e-trade babies were at it again for at least two commercials. The babies in the e-trade commercials will change constantly because kids grow so quickly.

Seeing a man sleepwalking across the African savannah just to find a Coca Cola was a bit odd but it was funny to see him get friendly with a hyena when he returned with his drink..

"Doritos seemed to take the best commercial spot, judging by the laughter. In one spot, a man entered the house of a 30-ish woman who had a small son. The boy did not care for the man being there and when the man tried to take a chip from the bowl of Doritos on the table, the boy took the chip and said, "Do not touch my mom and do not touch my Doritos". The boy's face spoke volumes and was too funny for words.

The consensus on the halftime show was the same all the way around...it needed help. The group "The Who" was the only act in the halftime show and they did not play a great deal. They started with snippits from two of their classic songs which were far from what we remembered them sounding like. Then they sang three songs that most people would recognize as the theme songs to the three CSI television series. The singing was not as bad as when they first began but if the audience had not joined in, the performance would have sounded a good deal worse. The performance was mediocre at best. The audience participation actually made the singing better because it almost drowned out the singing of the band.. General reaction was negative and more than one in the house made the comment that "The Who" should not perform "live" anymore.

No matter the commercials or the halftime show, there is one special lady in Kansas who celebrates with the rest of Louisiana tonight.

Congratulations to all!