By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – It has been nearly a week since the New Orleans Saints left the field of the Louisiana Superdome as NFC champions, but the excitement from last Sunday’s thrilling victory over Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings still resonates strong with River Parishes fans, who are now planning their next move.

Season ticket holders spent the early part of the week hoping and praying to be selected in the Saints ticket lottery. LaPlace businessman Sean Roussel was one of the lucky 4,000 to be chosen.

“I feel incredibly lucky since I’m just a first-year season ticket holder,” Roussel said. “I thought I misread the e-mail they sent. I thought it was just a thank you for being a season ticket holder kind of thing.”

Others, like LaPlace insurance agent Natalie Tatje, didn’t win in the lottery but still managed to secure tickets to the big game.

“I’m going with a group of 50 people,” said Tatje, who bought tickets from a friend. “We are chartering a plane, leaving for Miami the morning of the game and coming right back Sunday night. It will be kind of like going to a Saints home game. We will be back in time to enjoy the excitement at home, too.”

St. John Parish Councilwoman Cheryl Millet said she has plans to head out to Miami but without a ticket.

“I didn’t win tickets in the lottery, but I’m still holding out for something,” Millet said.

“There are tons of tickets still available online. I think that some of these prices will start to go down as the game gets closer.”

Millet said she is joining a group that includes her brother and several others who sit in her section of the Superdome for every Saints home game. Even without a ticket, Millet still intends to embrace the moment.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I just have to be a part of,” she said. “I’m going with my flags flying. I don’t think Miami quite knows what is about to hit.”

Roussel said a trip to Miami is the perfect culmination of a Saints season that just continued to get better and better.

“I’ve been to plenty of Saints games in my life, but this season has just been incredible,” he said. “Being a Saints fan for so long, you can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop, but it just never happened. Even when we lost that first game to Dallas, there was no sense of this season being doomed or being over.”

Tatje, who was in attendance last Sunday, said the atmosphere in Miami will depend on how many fans purchase tickets.

“I don’t think any Saints fan plans on being quiet,” she said. “Saints fans are like no other in the country. We will make our presence known.”

Roussel, on the other hand, said the Super Bowl has a tough hill to climb.

“Last Sunday was just the most incredible atmosphere I’ve ever experienced at a football game,” he said. “I don’t see the Super Bowl topping it because it isn’t our building. The excitement from the fans just won’t be as much as it was in the dome.”

Millet said win or lose, Miami better be ready for some serious reveling.

“They are going to see a party like they have never seen before,” she said. “If we can pull out a victory, watch out.”