The Superbowl Miracle

As many of you know, Jeff grew up in New Orleans, which in turn would make him a huge Saints fan. And we all know the Saints have never really done much when it comes to football. This year would prove to be different though. After following them all season, Jeff was determined they would make it to the Superbowl and if so, he was determined to attend the game. Given that the Superbowl is taking place less than an hour from our house, this wasn't a completely unrealistic dream for him. I never really thought much about it. I figured we'd just sit back and see what happens. After all, I know how much Superbowl tickets cost and I wasn't about to spend over $1000 for a ticket to a football game.

We've also been wanting to by a bigger tv for our house. The 30 inch just wasn't cutting it anymore. For the past year we've gone back and forth on whether it was the right time to buy. At first, Jeff didn't want to be distracted from his grad school work with a big tv, but then it became a matter of "hey, the Saints might actually make the superbowl, and if so I'd rather spend the money on a ticket than a big tv'." Of course, I disagreed with this theory. Why spend it on a one day event when we can buy a tv that will last years. Well, lo and behold the Saints made it to the Superbowl...and the debate ensued. We took a look at the ticket prices, which started at about $1,200 or so. I think even Jeff realized that's a lot to spend on a ticket. His original plan was to go to the stadium the day of the game with a wad of cash and hope to get a last minute scalped ticket for about $500 or $600. If he couldn't get in, at least he would be there with the plethora of Saints fans. I wasn't a big fan of this idea simply because I didn't like him walking around with that much cash.

A couple days after the Saints won the NFC Championship game, Jeff received an e-mail from his friend Jason from grad school. The e-mail simply stated that he had a slight chance of getting Superbowl tickets. Jason had a friend (who we will refer to as "the Awesome One") who lives in NY who did very well at a young age, retired in his 30's and became a part owner of the Oakland Raiders. Since he is part owner of an NFL team, The Awesome One is given Superbowl tickets by the NFL. It just so happened that Awesome One has a kid whose first birthday party was scheduled for the day of the Superbowl. Since he was not going to be able to attend, The Awesome One offered his tickets to Jeff's friend Jason. Jason, in turn, knowing what a huge Saints fan Jeff is, offered him a ticket. At the time, they were unaware of the cost or location of the seats, but those were only minor details. A few days went by and Jeff tried not to get too excited because he really wasn't sure how things would pan out and he didn't want to get his hopes up. A couple more days went by and then it was confirmed - Jason was definitely getting the tickets and he was giving one to Jeff. The most amazing part: the tickets were free. Yes, free!!!! Of course we were curious where the seats would be, but didn't really care - all that mattered was that Jeff would be in the stadium to watch his mighty Saints play in the Superbowl.

After signing some forms for the Oakland raiders promising he wouldn't resell the tickets, Jason received the actual tickets. He texted Jeff a picture - which happened to have the seat location...section one thirty something (131 or 134, i can't remember which) - row 18!!! By this point, Jeff was peeing his pants with excitement. His dream was coming true. Not only are his Saints in the Superbowl for the first time ever, but it's taking place practically in his backyard, he was given $900 tickets for free, and the seats are AMAZING!!! All I could say is "Someone is watching over you. Count your blessings buddy!" So here I sit, typing this blog post, while Jeff is on his way to big game. But don't feel sorry for me, yesterday we went out and bought the tv we've been talking about for the past year - a 52" Sony LCD. There's no place I'd rather be than watching the game from the comfort of my living room, knowing that Jeff is able to be there in person and loving every minute of it. Who knows what the outcome will be, but no matter what, we know this is something to be VERY thankful for. Go Saints!