Today is the Saints playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, and I find myself feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety. Thinking back on the season, I remembered something I told a friend of mine when she asked why her Louisiana friends were suddenly celebrating the Saints so much. My answer was this:

All of the Saints fans that I know have been die-hard fans since day one (since the days of Mora, Hebert, & Anderson for my generation, and earlier for my parents’). Then again, all of the Saints fans I know are locals, so we grew up watching and cheering for the Saints, win or lose.

It goes without saying that there are more important things to be concerned with, but I think the overwhelming excitement this season is about more than just a winning football team. It’s our first winning team in the history of the franchise. This is a first that any of us have ever seen — the first that all of us have been waiting for. Football is one of our nation’s passions, whether you’re a fan or not, and we’re finally getting to experience what other states have known for years with their winning teams.

All of that being said, something that most people are forgetting is that this is more than just team support. It’s unity. It’s the city coming together to celebrate something. Louisiana fails at politics, education, disaster recovery, and everything else except food, and the rest of the nation sees it. We’re finally succeeding at something nationally. It may not be the most important thing, but it’s something. And for those of us who watched everything we loved be obliterated four years ago, it’s nice to have something to come together over and celebrate.