Super Bowl Excites Former Saintsation

By Raquel White Davis
Hattiesburg American

In the spring of 1992, at the age of 19, I became a cheerleader for the New Orleans Saints.

Here I was, a girl from Petal, Mississippi, cheering for a professional football team. My career lasted four glorious years until I decided to put away the pompoms and complete my degree at Southern Miss.

The experience was incredible and I cherish the time I spent with the team as a member of the Saintsations.

I, like all Saints fans, am a BELIEVER. I never stop believing. I knew this year was going to be the one.

Back in October, I woke my husband at 1 o’clock in the morning to tell him that I wanted to go to the Super Bowl. His response: “WHAT? You, don’t even know that the Saints will go!”

To which I replied: “Yes I do! I feel it in my heart. I want to buy tickets tonight!”

To which he replied: “I’m going back to bed.”

From then on to the day of the NFC Championship game, I continued to remind him that I was planning on going to the Super Bowl. Before we entered the Superdome to watch the Saints defeat the Vikings, my husband made a phone call and ordered our Super Bowl tickets. It was risky, but I believed. We were headed to Miami!

So there we were, standing outside Sun Life Stadium im Miami for the greatest moment in New Orleans Saints history. It was incredible.

There were concerts, vendors, displays, activities, oh, and the Lombardi Trophy surrounded by guards. There was so much to see and do outside of the stadium that it was slightly overwhelming.

As we made our way in to the stadium, we kept turning to each other saying, “We are at the Super Bowl.” We said it over and over, I guess, in an effort to convince ourselves it was really happening.

When we took our seats and I glanced down to the field at the Saintsations lined up waiting for the team to arrive, I pictured myself down there. How desperately I wanted to be one of them on that field Sunday for this historical event.

My husband and I stayed until the bitter end after the game, being sure to take in all that the moment had to offer. We didn’t want to miss a thing.

With the remaining Saints fans, we stood over the tunnel to watch each of the World Champion Saints leave the field. As each one left I cheered and stood proud for my team and what they had accomplished.

As I watched the Saintsations run off the field, I felt excited for them and envious of them at the same time.

Some of these girls have only been on this earth for less than 20 years, half of the time that many Saints fans have waited for this very moment. I wondered, do they realize what a tremendous opportunity they were just given? Do they realize the magnitude of the moment for so many people? Do they TRULY realize that they are a part of a team that just made history?

I am not saying they do not know how tremendous it is to win a Super Bowl. What I am saying is… do they REALIZE … in their hearts … do they realize? I sure hope so.

For myself, I do realize what this game was all about and I am very grateful that I was able to be there, even if it was from the stands and not the field. I will forever know being at Super Bowl XLIV was one of the greatest and most exciting moments of my life.

My career with the Saintsations ended in 1995 when I chose to step away and finish my degree. I may no longer have an official position on the field, but I will NEVER stop being a cheerleader for the New Orleans Saints.

My pompoms and uniform may now be keepsakes, but in my heart I am still a Saintsation and I will forever bleed BLACK & GOLD!

Former Saintsation Raquel White Davis graduated from Petal High School in 1990 and from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1997. She is the daughter of Richard and Janell White of Petal and is married to Ashley Davis of D’Lo. She is the mother of twins London Ashley and Landry Parker (5 1/2 years old) and is an executive pharmaceutical sales representative for GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. She resides in Gadsden, Ala.