I came back down for the game after we had moved to North Mississippi following the storm. I didn't have a ticket, so I posted signs that day all around the Dome, "I need one ticket, cheap nosebleed, will include beer and/or firtsborn child."
I ended up getting in, and The Times-Picayune told the story at the end of their front-page feature piece. I found out that January that the story got into ESPN the Magazine's top 100 of the year - while I was at the hospital with our newborn (we kept her).
I got calls for weeks after the game from all around the country asking me if I got in from folks who saw the sign.
Colin Krieger
Columbus, Miss.
My husband has loved the New Orleans Saints since he was born in 1966. His first purchase after graduating college and getting a job was Saints season tickets. The year was 1989. Our seats started at the top of the terrace! The re-opening of the Dome in 2006 was the BEST home game in our 27 years as season ticket holders. (The NFC playoff in 2009 was of course a very close second!)
From the Green Day performance to the blocked punt it was storybook. ... As we look forward to Monday night , the 10-year anniversary of the amazing game, I actually tear up. This week is also my husband's 50th birthday so I know our boys will win it for the big 50th celebrations of the Saints AND my husband, Matthew Saacks !
#whodat #neverpunt #WD4L #50thcelebration
Beth Saacks
Mandeville
My memories won't be a picture, but a dedication to a man who loved his Saints more than anything. My dad, Richard LeRay. We knew at an early age when the big game was on and I learned all about football, being a girl, through him. At 64 years old he was diagnosed with dementia. During the big game in the Superdome my dad passed away peacefully. He would have been so proud to see them win and go on to win the Super Bowl!
The Saints will always be our team, no matter win or lose, because of my Dad.
Renee Matherne
First game back in the Dome, first Saints game for me, and first game for us as season ticket holders. Couldn't have been a better day for "Firsts!"
Joseph and Katrina Odom
Hattiesburg, Miss.
I have been a lifelong Saints fan but the Domecoming game was my first as a Saints season ticket holder. I had been looking forward to this night for a long time but this game was about so much more than just football. This was the opportunity for New Orleans and the Saints to shine and show the world that we were back.
While I fully expected us to win the game, I think no one had a clue the magic that would happen that night. From waiting for the doors to open on the concourse, to U2 And Green Day perform The Saints Are Coming and Wake Me Up When September Ends and of course, witnessing Steve Gleason's blocked punt. There were so many emotions and I will never forget any of them and the night that the world knew we're back, better and stronger than ever!
Tina Howell
