About 3 a.m, on Monday Sean Payton left the celebration private party at the team hotel, and headed to bed to get some sleep before a busy morning. The party included impromptu concerts by Kenny Chesney and Better than Ezra.
 
"I took the elevator up and put the Vince Lombardi Trophy down on the desk," said the Saints. I just said a prayer. I thanked God for these special times that don't come around too often. For that I'm very appreciative and very humbled."

The coach slept with the trophy next to him.

The players, city and the entire NFL must feel the same way.

This week will be a constant party in New Orleans with Mardi Gras a week away. In time, after the partying and celebrating,  we will realize that this Super Bowl was more than a game.

Nielsen has determined that Sunday's game was the most-watched program in television history, surpassing the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H, A staggering 106.5 million
persons watched, a 10 per cent increase from last year's Super Bowl numbers.

The ratings are a testament to many elements, whether because of wide-spanning technology or the peak interest in the NFL. It also could be a testament to the Saints, America's Team this day, and a sentimental choice of the nation.

"When you think about the relationship between the Saints and the Gulf Coast and the city of New Orleans, it was more than just a football game and more than just a football team," said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "The hopes and dreams and the struggles of that community were all reflected in that football game."

The Saints showed millions what happens when a team plays with passion and makes gambles that pay off.

The fun times aren't beginning, they have been here all season. The Saints are a reflection their city and the Who Dat Nation.

The Super Bowl journey began when Payton became coach. He began whacking and whittling remnants of sulking, sorry losing mentality that remained traits that had long helped strangle the franchise. He dumped grouchy players and lax coaches and overhauled the system.

He brought in guys and looked for more new guys to fit his plan. He kept building attitude on both side of the ball, and brought in defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to light a fire under the defense.

He played it fast and loose and he wanted risk-takers, gamblers, players and coaches who like play their game on the edge.

Payton likes to play psychiatrist with his players, likes to needle them and joke with them when he feels its required, but more than that, he wanted a team of players and coaches that were not afraid to win.. Not afraid to be great.

And that's how it unfolded for this season's Super Bowl champions.
.

Because Drew Brees and his Pro Bowl teammates had to report to Miami early to make appearances at the Pro Bowl, they decided to greet the rest of the team the following day while wearing bellhop uniforms when the team arrived at the hotel. They carried up the players' luggage.

During one workout the Saints were practicing at the University of Miami facility, Payton traded his Saints garb for UM attire instead.

Another day at breakfast, Payton was concerned about Williams getting too outlandish, giving the Colts bulletin board ammunition on media day, had a waiter serve the coach table saltines, peanut butter, and glass of sand.

On Saturday the Saints their walk though at Sun Life Stadium, Payton told them, "I want all you guys to bring your sons to the stadium. Let them run out on the field and have a pickup game while we're going through our walk- through."

During the game, it was more of the same. Payton told his team at the end of the halftime that they would be running "Ambush," the team's name for an onside kick, as they kicked off to start the second half.

The players couldn't wait take the field again. Special teams star Chris Reis recovered the ball and the Saints were in business. That play was like a turnover and turned the game around and gave the Saints enough momentum to change the game.

"Coach Payton wanted this week to be as much fun about the families and about this experience for them as it was for us as a team," Brees told David Letterman during his "The Late Show" show on Monday night. "That's a guy who gets it.  It's more than just about the game, it's more than just football."

After the Saints returned to the New Orleans airport on Monday, 20,000 Who Dats were there to cheer them. Payton was waving the Lombardi Trophy out of the sun roof as he drove by.

BREES PARADE STAR: Drew Brees, wearing a newsboy's cap, threw beads and Sean Payton pumped the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the air in front of thousands of fans as the floats carrying Saints players and owner Tom Benson rolled through thousands of jubilant fans on Tuesday evening in a parade honoring the world champions.

The parade, a week before the city's signature Fat Tuesday (is it now Dat Tuesday?), began at the Superdome and rolled through the business district. Saints players threw beads and signed autographs for the cheering Who Dats. The floats were loaned by some of the area's largest carnival krewes.  Reggie Bush wore dark glasses and shared a microphone with Pierre Thomas. Jeremy Shockey was interviewed by NFL Network and grabbed the mike and began interviewing the interviewer.

As Payton's float stopped in front of Gallier Hall, where politicians and other dignitaries gathered, Mayor Ray Nagin toasted the coach and led he crowd in a Who Dat chant.

There was no official estimate of how many persons attended, but the crowds were as large as any Carnival parade has seen. The traffic leading up to the parade was even worse.

Brees was riding in the same Bacchus float he'll be on Sunday when he reigns as that krewe's king.

Brees threw many beads and some of the Who Dats were concerned about possible effects on his surgically repaired throwing shoulder.

SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: Nevada casinos won about $6.9 million of this year's Super Bowl as bettors wagered $82.7 million of the NFL championship game. The Nevada Gaming Control Board said the win was $179,000 more than sports books won last year on $1.21 million in bets. The Colts started as a four point- favorite when the matchup was set. Nevada's biggest Super Bowl win in the last 10 years was in 2005 when the Patriots beat the Eagles and casinos won $15.4 million...Saints kicker Garrett Hartley, on life as a Saint: "I'm in a restaurant and when I'm walking out I get a standing ovation. I don't understand what's going on. We were at Outback the other night and a 70-year-old man busts out a harmonica and starts playing “When the  Saints Go Marching In." It really just tickles me to death."...

Did you see where Lane Kiffin and his lord of recruiting Ed Orgeron have received an oral commitment from a 13-year-old in Delaware? Knowing Kiffin, Orgeron and USC, the kid is probably driving a new skateboard...Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey, on his TD catch and victory in the Super Bowl: "I've probably run that route 1,000 times in my career and probably only caught a  couple of touchdown passes off it.  I have great memories of winning in high school, college, the Giants and definitely the Saints.  This feeling is about as special as it gets.."...The Saints won their first NFL championship with the worst defense in Super Bowl history, ranking 25th. But they also brought one of the most opportunistic defenses to the Super Bowl, forcing a league runner-up 39 turnovers in 2009.  The Saints scored seven touchdowns on defense in the regular season and an eighth in the Super Bowl...

MAD RUSH: There's mad rush on Saints Super Bowl champs shirts. Adidas has he contract to manufacture licensed gear for all NFL teams through its Reebok subsidiary. And pre-order sales for Saints' Super Bowl merchandise was quadruple that of the Colts. Shop owners expect the demand as vacationers head to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and clamor for all things Saints. Saints merchandise sells. Maybe it’s the boy-next-door quarterback or the revival story of a city devastated by a hurricane. Or it might be simply because it was the Saints' first Super Bowl. Regardless, much of America wanted to see them win -- and buy their stuff. The plant that makes the shirts is in Indianapolis and will ship put 130,000 shirts a day, compared with a typical 65,000 to 70,000. Most of the pre-printed Colts Super Bowl shirts will go to Haiti...

SAINTS TREASURES: Bring back Saints memories with ll x14 color aerial photo of old Tulane Stadium and the Saints' first game ever against the Rams. The photo features the game ticket and game program. Color photo of the 1967 Saints is also available. Framed pictures are $20 each.   (504) 779-0000  (504) 779-0000   (504) 779-0000 .