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[brvheart]

Fans find religion on Bourbon StreetBY DAN LE BATARDdlebatard@MiamiHerald.comNEW ORLEANS -- NEW ORLEANS -- Do you believe in this religion? In the pure and holy power of Saints?Stand here and bear witness, humbled servant, at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal, and listen to how joyful it sounds and feels when a desperate city finally has its prayer answered.Bourbon Street, epicenter of debauchery, was practically empty a moment ago. Unusually still. Impossibly quiet. Everyone was inside, watching the game, so the man bobbing at the center of the vacant street with his warning and his 15-foot white cross actually looked kind of lonely.But listen closely now. You can actually hear it approaching. The city is about to come to him. It is about to come to Jesus.The long-suffering New Orleans Saints, with all of two playoff victories in four decades before this year, have just won the Super Bowl, and now everyone is rushing here because the best celebrations are always the ones that are shared.Many of the city's residents are in such a hurry that they are sprinting. They come from every direction, North, South, East and West, all these rushing rivers of joy spilling and converging at the center of this ocean of overwhelming. Finally for New Orleans, mercifully, blessedly, a different kind of flooding.Bourbon Street is intoxicating. Everyone is drunk, even those who are not drinking. They are wearing masks and jerseys and team colors and jester's hats and costumes and beads and face paint and flabbergasted smiles. They are carrying parasols and tambourines and half-gallon beers and megaphones and cigars and signs and 42 years worth of gratitude. They are screaming and dancing and singing and chanting and hugging and crying and setting a record for failed, drunken high-fives.From raucous bars and horn-blasting cars, they converge here with such sudden insanity that three police officers on horses, here to keep control, gallop in a panic out of the way as soon as they hear the approaching rumble of noise, horses in full sprint. Once the cops reach the end of Bourbon Street and turn around to survey the chaos, all these people spilling in from adjacent streets in all directions, the cops can't even keep it inside, either. They start to laugh. And one cop, in uniform, lights a cigar.This is how it can feel at the emotional height of sports, where the magnetic pull of shared joy brings all kinds of people together. Think about it. There isn't a lot else in life that makes people feel quite like this. And precious few cities have needed this moment of healing the way this broken one did.An old black man and young white man begin dancing together at the center of the chaos, hips swiveling, getting low, jumping high, and they do this for five minutes. Then they embrace to take a photo to remember, arms around each other tight. They looked like friends. They had just met.And the noise, my God. It is hard to describe. Try to scream for a long time now. It is impossible to sustain. You have to stop, catch your breath and restart. And you are going to get tired and hoarse very fast. You can only do this for so long. But so many people are doing it now on this street, together, jumping up and down, up and down, calves burning, up and down, that the noise never drops even one octave, those who have to stop to catch their breath replaced by those who already have, a city breathing with one heartbeat. The screaming stays at that blissful height for a full 30 minutes without ever once diminishing. On a crowded street corner, a man breaks out a saxophone and begins to play ``When the saints go marching in.'' And now here come the drums. This is a musical city used to pulling the best out of the worst.Blues comes from that place. Jazz, too. Louis Armstrong grew up in an orphanage right over there on Canal. They've learned to party with their suffering here. Brothels. Slavery. Piracy. Voodoo. All the worst of the Deep South. No city in our country has its history more inextricably linked with its music, and what is rising up now, after 42 years of football pain and shame, sounds a lot like a beautiful and soulful song.It's impossible to miss this, too: This street was chilly a minute ago. But all these bodies gathering so quickly and so closely has made it all feel very warm.America rooted for the Saints in making this Super Bowl the most viewed television show ever. How could you not? New Orleans is so very poor. And so very rich. Any corner you turn, you'll find something interesting, though it is probably decaying.They have learned to live with death here more than most. It isn't just the above-ground cemeteries so prevalent that you'll find small plots in the middle of just about any neighborhood. It is that Hurricane Katrina hit this area with such force that, five years later, New Orleans hasn't really been able to get all the way back up. This game and happiness doesn't fix any of that, though it'll be framed that way by people who don't have to experience how parts of the Ninth Ward still smell. It just feels really good for a bit, a bandage on something broken, and that is enough if you are living in the now.The drink so many people had in their hands? It is called a Hurricane, and it is the most famous in a city that features a drive-through for daiquiris. Hurricane. It is responsible for the disaster that everyone around here remembers, and it is the drink that helps them forget.My brother and I walked all around New Orleans during the Super Bowl. Walked about eight miles. From downtown to uptown, through the Garden District. It felt like we had the city all to ourselves. Everyone seemed to be inside. Many establishments were closed -- with notes that they'd be closed Monday, too, when the Saints won. We walked past a McDonald's at 9 p.m. that didn't have a customer in it. How often do you ever see that? Strippers stopped dancing. Cab companies would not answer their phones. Never heard a siren, either.If you didn't know where you were, you couldn't have had any idea that you were minutes away from the happiest day in the history of this spiritual city. Or that savior Drew Brees -- known as ``Breesus Christ'' among Saints worshipers -- was minutes from producing something that felt a little bit like a resurrection. Of hope and rewarded faith, if nothing else.And the headline in big, black letters of the newspaper was four perfect letters.Amen, it read.

[JoeyJoJo]

Good article. I forget that he's a writer first and radio/TV guy second.

[BigDMcGee]

brvheart, on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010, 12:26 AM, said:

no.EDIT: Dan said that it was something to the effect of "I finished inside your wife."

I watched the full stern interview on youtube ( it's in 4 parts, the story starts towards the end of part 3, if you decide to dig for yourself)and what he actually said was " I came in your wifes mouth.." and then the guy shook his hand.

[BigDMcGee]

JoeyJoJo, on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010, 11:39 AM, said:

Good article. I forget that he's a writer first and radio/TV guy second.

I remember reading his columns that would get syndicated when I was a in college ( maybe high school), and would get fired up about it, because my sports and world views were alot different then ( and he was alot more brash and abrassive then). I warmed up to him listening to his old ESPN radio sunday morning show ( which I'd listen to after staying up all night, trying to get to sleep).

[Poppy_Hillis]

Anyone having an issue with iTunes this week? They got all old ones and no new ones.

[brvheart]

No. no problems. They were all new for me and working fine.

[Poppy_Hillis]

brvheart, on Friday, February 12th, 2010, 1:22 AM, said:

No. no problems. They were all new for me and working fine.

Great. Just great.

[brvheart]

I absolutely lose it when Hoch plays that stupid sea gull over stuff. On today's show when he was squawking that stupid bird over the 'news guy' doing the daily news, I was laughing pretty hard.

[brvheart]

Today's show was top notch. Hilarious. Also Im sure JJJ loved all the fake bracket talk.

[Poppy_Hillis]

brvheart, on Thursday, February 18th, 2010, 7:52 PM, said:

Today's show was top notch. Hilarious. Also Im sure JJJ loved all the fake bracket talk.

The video of that "fight" is consuming me. In my opinion they can end the internet now, because it's not getting better than this. There are just so many levels to this video aside from the obvious. -The girls telling him to beat his ass, then laughing at him when he's bleeding. -"Oooohh, he leakin"-The girls stealing the old guy's bag.-"Bring ambalamps"-"Imma kill dat nigga" two seconds after being unleashed upon-The old guy's shirt reading, "I am a ************"-The revelation that the old guy's name is Vietnam Tom who was once tased at an A's game. -The nice young woman with her headphones on who doesn't seem to mind or care about the altercation one bit-The nice young woman who is now known as Amber Lamps which then produced this

[JoeyJoJo]

Poppy_Hillis, on Friday, February 19th, 2010, 2:16 AM, said:

The video of that "fight" is consuming me. In my opinion they can end the internet now, because it's not getting better than this. There are just so many levels to this video aside from the obvious.

Anytime a fight can be described as "an avalanche of canned hams" you know you've got something good.

[brvheart]

This is the actual clip:Did anyone find the mortal combat one? EDIT: I found it... Pretty damn funny.http://www.epicbeardmanfacts.com/http://www.facebook....ts/365467365760 <<-- Facebook pageThis dude is pretty awesome.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELKET-mtm7E&feature=related

[brvheart]

Poppy_Hillis, on Friday, February 19th, 2010, 4:16 AM, said:

-The nice young woman with her headphones on who doesn't seem to mind or care about the altercation one bit

As many of you were watching the confrontation between Epic Beard Man and Tough Thug, some of y’all were busy falling in love with the Hot Headphones Girl AKA Amber Lamps who was relaxing right in the midst of a war. She was given the nickname Amber Lamps because the internet census took it away from Tough Thug Tyrone and coined it for her. She stood out in this crowd more than a no arm man in a push up contest. What part of heaven did she come from? Many would have to assume the part that manufactures the angels. What kind of music has the honor to bless her ears? Was she gangsta leanin’ to some Tech N9ne perhaps? Maybe boppin’ to some Pat Benatar? What we do know about Hot Headphones Girl is that she has a great sense of fashion to match her stunning facial features. She is equipped with eyes and aura that can penetrate through computer monitors, and most importantly, holds no type of fear in her heart. Her attitude remains cooler than a polar bear’s toe nail throughout the whole incident like, “Y’all bitches hurry up and fight so I can get to where I needs to be”.

[brvheart]

Poppy_Hillis, on Friday, February 19th, 2010, 4:16 AM, said:

The video of that "fight" is consuming me. In my opinion they can end the internet now, because it's not getting better than this. There are just so many levels to this video aside from the obvious. -The girls telling him to beat his ass, then laughing at him when he's bleeding. -"Oooohh, he leakin"-The girls stealing the old guy's bag.-"Bring ambalamps"-"Imma kill dat nigga" two seconds after being unleashed upon-The old guy's shirt reading, "I am a ************"-The revelation that the old guy's name is Vietnam Tom who was once tased at an A's game. -The nice young woman with her headphones on who doesn't seem to mind or care about the altercation one bit-The nice young woman who is now known as Amber Lamps which then produced this

You missed one major thing...."Why does a brother have to spit shine your shoes?""I didn't say that. What do you think... I'm prejudiced? It could be a Chinamen... it doesn't matter."

[JoeyJoJo]

brvheart, on Friday, February 19th, 2010, 12:05 PM, said:

Did anyone find the mortal combat one? EDIT: I found it... Pretty damn funny.

That's awesome.

[JoeyJoJo]

When Hoch and Stugotz were talking about facebook and Hoch started saying that he will quickly click off of it when his wife walks in the room because he doesn't want her to see who he's talking to...and then he said, "Is this thing on?" I just about lost it.

[PokerPiper]

brvheart, on Friday, February 19th, 2010, 3:11 PM, said:

As many of you were watching the confrontation between Epic Beard Man and Tough Thug, some of y’all were busy falling in love with the Hot Headphones Girl AKA Amber Lamps who was relaxing right in the midst of a war. She was given the nickname Amber Lamps because the internet census took it away from Tough Thug Tyrone and coined it for her. She stood out in this crowd more than a no arm man in a push up contest. What part of heaven did she come from? Many would have to assume the part that manufactures the angels. What kind of music has the honor to bless her ears? Was she gangsta leanin’ to some Tech N9ne perhaps? Maybe boppin’ to some Pat Benatar? What we do know about Hot Headphones Girl is that she has a great sense of fashion to match her stunning facial features. She is equipped with eyes and aura that can penetrate through computer monitors, and most importantly, holds no type of fear in her heart. Her attitude remains cooler than a polar bear’s toe nail throughout the whole incident like, “Y’all bitches hurry up and fight so I can get to where I needs to be”.

Amber lamps is truly an angel. I bet she was listening to the harp in those headphones.

[brvheart]

PokerPiper, on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010, 11:08 AM, said:

Amber lamps is truly an angel. I bet she was listening to the harp in those headphones.

Please quit posting in this thread.

[Poppy_Hillis]

So with Kornheiser off PTI for 2 weeks, we're not losing Dan for 2 weeks, are we?

[BigDMcGee]

Espn is the worst. God, It's going to suck when TK has to tone down his show.