A single playoff game that would bring the Saints to the Superbowl brought together my family for a few hours that turned out to mean so much. For just a few moments, my family would be brought together as close as possible as we scrutinized each play leading to our victory.

 From my third cousins to my aunts and uncles, my whole family was sitting on the edges of our seats and clenching our hands as we watched Drew Brees throw each pass over the Vikings. We screamed and shouted at what we never thought would happen: the Saints going to the Superbowl. After the Saints kicked the last field goal to win the game, the Doubletree Hotel lobby was filled with our shattering yelps of victory. As they grinned from ear to ear, every member of my family began to squeeze my sister and me till we gasped for air. My mom and my aunt started crying, but I never fully processed the significance of their tears. I finally understood that their tears came from pure, genuine happiness in the moment. The Saints winning this  football game brought my family together by each person finally showing their affection towards one another because of this simple victory. After I turned away from my mom and my aunt, I was startled to see our friend’s grandmother on her knees in front of the television. I was puzzled as to what I was seeing until I slowly inched closer and heard her almost silent whispers. She had dropped to her knees with her hands clasped in front of her face as the tears came rolling down. She had no other way of expressing her happiness other than to thank God. Less than two seconds later, I was jolted backward and into the air as my dad threw my sister and me up in his arms. Because he had the biggest smile on his face, I knew that the biggest Saints fan that I would ever meet was proud of his favorite team. Each of my family members showed his or her happiness by either crying, screaming, or smiling. In the moment, I was exhilarated more than ever, but I still did not recognize what this game had done for my family until later. The final playoff game brought every relative together in a single moment that was centered solely around joy and happiness. Soon, Saints umbrellas were popped into the air and the clackers began ringing. We marched around in the small lobby as the rattling from our clackers traveled down the hallways. The frowning Giants fans simply stared at all of us as they walked from the elevators, through the lobby, and out the hotel doors. I will never forget the happiness that my family felt over what others simply saw as a single football game.

That Saints game in January of 2010 truly showed that my nine year-old self could not begin to grasp that family can grow stronger through the simple aspect of coming together for a common interest. I never forgot how this Saints game impacted my family years later as we continually came together for future games.