Saints and Colts fans ready for game

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The party began long before kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday in New Orleans.

The game was set for Sunday evening in Miami, but many football fans flocked to the Saints' home town.

Mardi Gras season parades were one draw, but visitors to the city also said they wanted to be in the city to celebrate a possible Saints victory.

Saints fever was evident all along the parade routes as thousands of revelers sported jerseys, sweatshirts, hats and coats in Saints black and gold while watching marching bands and gaudy floats full of masked riders.

Police said they are beefing up patrols in the French Quarter to handle the large crowds. Colts fans are fired up and hoping to cheer their team to its second Super Bowl title in four years.

The Colts are playing the New Orleans Saints on Sunday evening, and people all over Indianapolis - in bars, churches and homes - are getting ready to party.

Blue jerseys and shirts were the Sunday best for members of Circle City Church in northeast Indianapolis. And bars, especially those downtown, are preparing for big crowds. Monument Circle, at the center of the city, was the hotspot for celebrating fans after the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in 2007.

But not everyone in Indianapolis is wearing blue. Many Purdue fans are pulling for the Saints because New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees attended the university that's about 65 miles from downtown.