Last night, the Superdome was the loudest I can remember for a prolonged period of time (nothing will ever seem as loud as the Dome was when Steve Gleason blocked the Atlanta punt for a touchdown in 2006, but that could be memory-aided). At moments, it was so intense that it turned to distortion in my ears – a sign of hearing loss, I’m sure.

As brilliant as the night was, the only sad note was the cover band churning out ’80s classic rock hits during the pre-game festivities on the bridge that connects the Dome to what was the New Orleans Center. Really? In a city with as much great music as ours, we get covers of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “You Shook Me All Night Long”? Is it so wrong to long for a brass band? Something funky? It was music as wallpaper – the sound that will have the least negative impact on the party – instead of something that would actually juice it up. The Saints can and should do better.