I’ve posted before on why I love New Orleans – there’s just something about the character of this city; the humor, the freedom people feel to be a little bit crazy… I’m not quite sure how to describe it but this video is a good illustration.
Buddy D Parade from Cottage Films on Vimeo.
The backstory is these are not your ordinary, run of the mill drag queens. They’re Saints fans. Many years ago, a popular sportscaster who was frustrated with the Saints’ losing record responded to a fan’s hopes for a winning playoff game by vowing, “If the Saints ever get to the Superbowl, I’ll put on a dress and dance down Bourbon Street.” Buddy D. died a few months after Katrina, but his son, his fans, and football great Bobby Hebert honored that vow with a parade starting at the Superdome and ending in the Quarter. (Hebert is the guy on the truck with the blond ponytails.) So all last week, otherwise ordinary guys who’d never dream of going drag hit the thrift stores in search of that perfect dress; often with wives in tow as fashion advisors. Win or lose, the fact that that Saints are actually going to the Superbowl is pretty overwhelming for most New Orleanians. The night they beat the Vikings, my whole neighborhood just erupted – people out in the streets, people driving by honking their horns, and fireworks. I’m not even a football fan – at least, not American football, I love the Aussie version – but I’m going to watch the game and root for them. If the Saints can get to the Superbowl, anything could happen.
My sentiments exactly! Go Saints!!!!!!!!!!!!