Saints win the Superbowl…Amen boys, we love you!

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/hr.asp?fpVname=LA_TP&ref_pge=gal&b_pge=1 Sunday night, the New Orleans Saints, the underdog of the NFL, won the Superbowl.  There are not enough words to describe how that felt…honor, belief in a city that people once gave up on, euphoria, pure joy. So many words, but none of them explain how important this win was for my city that captured my heart four and one half years ago.

I came to New Orleans three weeks after Katrina to help rescue animals…people asked me, “why aren’t you helping people”, but they did not get i”.  With every dog that I had the pleasure to help return to their owners, I was helping the people of New Orleans; from the look on the owners faces and on the dogs, I knew that my choice of way to help was a good one.  I continued to come back, over and over, as I returned animals to their owners, and finally I realized that I had fallen hard for this city and almost 2 years ago, I moved here permanently.  I love this city with all my heart, the good, the bad, and the comical. The struggles of this city, are my struggles.  Winning the Superbowl was proof that I had chosen well…a city that people thought would never rise from the ashes and aftermath of Katrina (and Rita) has indeed risen and triumphed.  And winning the Superbowl is proof of that.

The NY Times said it well; “New Orleanians are acutely aware of how their city is perceived. They’ve had to explain to friends after their post-Katrina sojourns in Dallas or Atlanta or Houston — those well-groomed, go-get-’em cities that have flourished in the past few decades — why they wanted to return to a city long associated with crime and corruption. If you have to ask, you’ll never know, according to Louis Armstrong, and most outsiders don’t, and it gets frustrating.”  But for those of us who love this city, this victory and the team that believed in the City of New Orleans, is proof that there is grace! And grace indeed is shining down on this wonderful city.  Long live the Saints, long live the City of New Orleans!  I do know what it means to love New Orleans!

The photos that follow are from the Superbowl Parade that took place yesterday!  They estimated that 100,000 people came out to cheer on the Saints and to tell them thank you! I think you will see from my photos, that the parade was jubilant, joyous and poignant.  From the city that people once forgot, to the city we are today, we have come a long way!  I am proud to be a New Orleanian, and am escpecially proud of the New Orleans Saints…thank you boys, we owe you a debt that we cannot pay, but I hope that you know how proud we are of you, and how much hope and joy that you brought to this city.  Bless you boys!

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Laura Bergerol, not a native New Orleanian, but a forever New Orleanian!

Tags: bayou, close-up, Laura Bergerol Photography, Louisiana, New Orleans, Nouvelle Orleans, red, smile, street photos of New Orleans

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