By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – There is no use trying to fight it, the Who Dat Nation has simply taken over.

Days have turned to hours and the excitement over the New Orleans Saints’ first appearance in a Super Bowl reached a crescendo Friday afternoon with pep rallies and other celebratory events across St. John Parish.

At Our Lady of Grace School in Reserve, teachers and administrators organized a fundraiser pep rally where students participated in football-themed games, drawing contests and other activities.

“You can’t help but get excited over this,” said Our Lady of Grace PTO president Anna Williams. “It’s really the only thing anybody has been talking about.”

Meanwhile, at St. Joan of Arc School in LaPlace, a school-wide pep rally featuring dance team and band performances worked students into a frenzy toward the end of the school day.

Students created banners, held up signs and danced in the aisles of the bleachers as they competed for the “most spirited” grade level.

Saints pandemonium also infiltrated the halls of St. John Parish offices in LaPlace Friday. St. John Sheriff’s Office employees joined parish workers for a lunch gathering inside the parish council chambers at the Percy Hebert Building in LaPlace.