My only New Year's resolution this year was to NOT have any resolutions and live life more spontaneously. So two weeks ago, when the 49ers defeated the Atlanta Falcons to advance to Super Bowl XLVII - Mike and I decided to do everything in our power to get ourselves to New Orleans. The Monday before the big game, all the stars had aligned and all of our plans fell into place....the hotel...the flights...the parties....the TICKETS! It was official! The Mobley's were heading to New Orleans!
The thought of going to NOLA for one of the biggest weekends of the entire year right in the heart of Mardi Gras intimidated me a little bit. I didn't know if I was prepared for the insanity that was Super Bowl Weekend. But when we landed at the airport, we both had smiles for miles. A cheery welcome party greeted us as we walked off the jet bridge and gave us Mardi Gras beads of our team's colors. I was wearing more gold and crimson beads by the time I left the airport than most people had on all of Bourbon street!
We honestly couldn't check into our hotel soon enough. Between Mike's San Francisco crew and the people we know from the advertising industry, there were quite a few people in town that had already gotten the Super Bowl festivities started. To our dismay, Bourbon street was painted purple. I tried to convince myself that it was an unfair advantage because the colors of Mardi Gras are, in fact, purple, and that there just HAD to be a bunch of LSU fans in town. But it was true, Baltimore showed up, and they showed up in droves. They had their faces painted, they were chanting in what seemed like a sea of purple, and they brought everyone they knew. Us Niner fans were outnumbered, by a LOT.
But that didn't prevent us from flaunting our team spirit all night before the big game. We donned cardinal and gold Mardi Gras masks, I showed off my festive 49ers manicure and we screamed "WHO'S GOT IT BETTER THAN US? NO BODY!!!", until the early hours of the morning. We took detours to fit in as many Super Bowl parties as possible, and our night ended with an impromptu trip to the Convention Center for a VIP view of Stevie Wonder and Gary Clark, Jr live. It was another once-in-a-lifetime experience that we just stumbled upon in our tour of downtown New Orleans.
The last time I woke up overwhelmingly excited was my wedding day. Admittedly, we were both anxious about the match-up and about the fact that New Orleans already felt like a Raven's parade. After a filling breakfast, it felt as if Mike and I were actually gearing up to play in the Super Bowl. We dressed in silent nervousness making sure that every aspect of our outfits were perfect and that our matching Patrick Willis jerseys were wrinkle free. The only cure for our nerves before the game was a good ol' fashioned Niner's Hurricane. Ok, they weren't "NINER'S" hurricanes, but they were red, and we took that as another display of our team spirit.
Game day on Bourbon was a sight to see and it's quite indescribable. The streets were literally electric with friendly banter and random outbursts of "GO NINERS!!" I've never high-fived so many strangers in my entire life. The entire town took a small hiatus from Mardi Gras festivities to paint the streets in cardinal and gold and purple and black. The energy of the city of New Orleans is extremely unique, but the energy on Super Bowl Sunday in New Orleans is exceptional. I've never seen my husband so elated. He was surrounded by some of his best friends, we met up with his cousin John, he was in one of our nations most festive destinations, and his team was about to play for the Lombardi trophy. I might have had a few hurricanes, and the Bud Light was flowing like water, but I'll never forget the excitement and the contagious sparkle that was coming out of that city.
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| What the heck is the Niner's defense doing on Bourbon St? |
As an avid football fan, as a newly adopted Niners fan, and as an American, there are few things more magical than going to the actual Super Bowl game. When I walked into the stadium with the person I love most in this world, and settled in our seats just 4 rows up from the 49er's end zone, I felt, at that moment, that my life was complete. The twinkling stadium lights, the heat from the fireworks when the Niners ran on to the field, the deafening roar of the stadium during the first kick-off...sigh. I'm not embarrassed to say I teared up during the singing of our National Anthem. It was overwhelming how happy I was to be in that moment and to be a part of such a great American tradition.
Yes, the game had some highs, and the game had some lows...well, the game was mostly lows when the Niners didn't walk away with the trophy. If someone told me that they knew the outcome of the game before I went, I still would have gone, in fact I wouldn't have missed it. We got to be a part of history. We were mere feet away from Colin Kaepernick's famous touchdown pose. We got to see Beyonce undeniably light up the halftime show. We got to experience the Super dome black out during the 3rd quarter. We got to watch the absolute devastation on the Raven's fans face when the Niners scored 17 unanswered points. We were there for the first ever Super Bowl played between two brothers. We got to watch a second string quarterback, who started 7 games during the regular season, achieve hero status. And unfortunately, we were there when Ray Lewis played his last game in the NFL.
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| 4 rows up from the Niners! |
If I cold have changed the outcome, I would have, but that 34-31 score was a great show and a game that will be talked about for years to come. It took a few days to get over the heartbreak of losing the biggest game of the year, but looking back on the entire experience, it was literally the trip of a lifetime. New Orleans was a fantastic host city, and I only hope that we can live up to that new year when we host Super Bowl XLVIII in New York City. To the San Francisco 49ers, thank you for a thrilling season and I can't wait to break out our cardinal and gold again in the fall (along with our orange and navy of course...I haven't forgotten about my Bears!). Who's got it better than us??? Nobody!!!!!
We honestly couldn't check into our hotel soon enough. Between Mike's San Francisco crew and the people we know from the advertising industry, there were quite a few people in town that had already gotten the Super Bowl festivities started. To our dismay, Bourbon street was painted purple. I tried to convince myself that it was an unfair advantage because the colors of Mardi Gras are, in fact, purple, and that there just HAD to be a bunch of LSU fans in town. But it was true, Baltimore showed up, and they showed up in droves. They had their faces painted, they were chanting in what seemed like a sea of purple, and they brought everyone they knew. Us Niner fans were outnumbered, by a LOT.
As an avid football fan, as a newly adopted Niners fan, and as an American, there are few things more magical than going to the actual Super Bowl game. When I walked into the stadium with the person I love most in this world, and settled in our seats just 4 rows up from the 49er's end zone, I felt, at that moment, that my life was complete. The twinkling stadium lights, the heat from the fireworks when the Niners ran on to the field, the deafening roar of the stadium during the first kick-off...sigh. I'm not embarrassed to say I teared up during the singing of our National Anthem. It was overwhelming how happy I was to be in that moment and to be a part of such a great American tradition.
Yes, the game had some highs, and the game had some lows...well, the game was mostly lows when the Niners didn't walk away with the trophy. If someone told me that they knew the outcome of the game before I went, I still would have gone, in fact I wouldn't have missed it. We got to be a part of history. We were mere feet away from Colin Kaepernick's famous touchdown pose. We got to see Beyonce undeniably light up the halftime show. We got to experience the Super dome black out during the 3rd quarter. We got to watch the absolute devastation on the Raven's fans face when the Niners scored 17 unanswered points. We were there for the first ever Super Bowl played between two brothers. We got to watch a second string quarterback, who started 7 games during the regular season, achieve hero status. And unfortunately, we were there when Ray Lewis played his last game in the NFL. 
Go Niners! If I had only worn red we would have one. I like the detailed weekend recap, I can't seem to remember the time line so this helps me fill in some gaps
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