Somewhere toward the end of last week’s epic New Orleans Saints football victory over the Miami Dolphins, it was obvious to most fans that a special season was only getting started.

I was lucky enough to have watched that football game with my mother, a die-hard Saints fan who was in attendance for the club’s first professional football game in Tulane Stadium.

We live two hours apart and the game against Miami was the first Saints match-up this season we got to watch together.

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However, as the child of divorced parents, it made me think to myself that I had not yet watched a game with my father this season.

That changes tonight.

My dad works for an electrical contracting firm in New Orleans that has more than 20 season tickets in various locations throughout the Superdome. He occasionally is allowed to use them and was lucky enough to secure two tickets earlier this season for my brother and sister to enjoy the Saints/New York Jets game in week four.

So it was during the Miami game last week that I called my Dad and told him I had already used a vacation day for Tuesday of this week and that if he secured an extra ticket for me to attend tonight’s Monday Night football game against the Atlanta Falcons, I would have no trouble making it to New Orleans in time for the game.

Well, my old man came through. He didn’t get any of his company tickets but he did finagle tickets from another source. I’m not sure from where and I guess it’s best not to ask too many questions when two tickets like this become available.

Needless to say, I can’t wait to be in that number tonight when the NFC’s only undefeated football team tries to keep the magic of 2009 going.

As I give this column its finishing checks and tweaks this morning at 6 a.m., my dad has already text messaged me about tonight’s game.

“Do you have your jersey on today?” he asks referring to my No. 12 Marques Colston Saints replica jersey that I wear during important games.

I tell him no, because it does not fit the predetermined dress code of The Daily Iberian. Yet, it is nicely folded in my truck and will be on my back before I leave the parking lot this afternoon on my way for the Big Easy.

The jersey has special meaning for the two of us because my Dad was with me three years ago when I purchased it. On that morning, he and I were cruising the malls in Metairie for a Saints jersey because we were heading to the Saints home playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dad got the tickets he wanted that day. I got the jersey I wanted. And we got to see the victory we wanted in person. It was a truly memorable day.

There is no reason tonight can’t be just as memorable.

STEPHEN HEMELT is city editor of The Daily Iberian, and a die-hard Saints fan. He can be reached at stephen.hemelt@daily-iberian.com.