Apparently the Chamber of Commerce’s order for ideal Super Bowl weather this time around was filled, at least when it came to eliminating any threat of rain.

• Pregame Scenes From Super Bowl XLIV At Sun Life Stadium

Sun Life Stadium was awash in sunlight all afternoon leading up to tonight’s kickoff of Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans as the NFL got its wish of clear blue skies. The only kink has been the cool temperatures that have forced the locals to break out their sweaters and jackets. Of course those fans that made the trip down from Indianapolis like Susan Vaughn and Eli Ybarra, where there is six inches of snow, couldn’t have been happier with the weather.

“We’ve been here since 1 and have been walking all the way around and checked out the CBS exhibit of the history of the game,” said Eli, who has been a season ticket holder along with his wife since 2002. “This is one of my favorite parts, the history, and all of this pregame stuff is fun but I’m pretty antsy to get inside and watch the game.”

The happy couple has lived in Indianapolis for 16 years and has been in the state of Indiana their whole lives. Their daughter goes to school with Colts center Jeff Saturday’s kids and they have gotten to know him very well. Susan describes him as a wonderful father whose personality is the same in private as it is on television.

Vaughn and Ybarra did not make the trip down to South Florida three years ago when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI but they were at Lucas Oil Field for the AFC Championship and arrived in town Friday afternoon at their North Miami Beach hotel. They hit South Beach last night and have been thrilled by the events and the hospitality shown not only by the local people but by Saints fans.

“It’s been such a nice time down here and not one jerky thing has been said to me,” Vaughn said.

Two of those diehard Saints fans were standing just feet away, brothers Steve and Matt Daugherty. Steve made the trip from Wichita, Kansas and his older brother, Matt, who got the tickets, came from Kansas City. They grew up in New Orleans and Steve lived for a short while in Lake Charles, opening up his house to a family that had been chased out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.

Steve was sporting an old style leather Saints football helmet and a Drew Brees jersey, while Matt just went with the Brees jersey. They were in heaven being here for the Saints’ first ever trip to the Super Bowl.

“My Dad was in the Coast Guard so we grew up in New Orleans and I grew up loving the Saints so I’ve been waiting 25-plus years for this,” Steve said. “I can’t help shedding a tear every time I hear “When The Saints Go Marching In,” or hugging people at the NFC Championship game. We love being here in South Florida.”

At precisely 4 p.m., Daughtry began rocking the Tailgate Party in the parking lot directly behind the press box under as the temperatures that had warmed up since the morning hours were beginning to cool off again. He was followed by Steve Winwood.

There was a huge contingent of Saints fans making their way into the stadium from the road that leads past Calder Race Course as the media bus pulled into the parking lot, but once inside the ratio of Saints to Colts fans looked pretty even. And moments before Queen Latifah sang the America The Beautiful, a loud “Who Dat” cheer broke out. Then the teams were introduced and lastly, before Latifah took the stage, Brian Waters of the Kansas City Chiefs was presented with the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.