LANDOVER, Md. -- They had been told by security personnel and their coach not to leave the team hotel for any reason, and when the New Orleans Saints traveled by bus to FedEx Field Sunday morning they kept the window blinds pulled down tight. But after ransacking the Redskins, 43-27, to improve their record to 5-1, jubilation seemed to wash away any fear the Saints felt about traveling into the sniper's nest that has become Washington, D.C.

	After running away to victory over the Redskins, Saints players weren't going to let fears of the Washington sniper keep them from celebrating with their fans after the game.

"I'd be lying if I said this whole thing wasn't a concern to us," Saints defensive tackle Norman Hand said. "But inside the stadium, you looked around and realized this was the safest place we could be. Once we started playing, shoot, guys just stopped thinking about it."

That was even more so the case after the game when players mingled with fans and family outside of the stadium tunnel (where security was minimal) for a half-hour before boarding team buses. Although security officials had taken the threat of a sniper attack seriously, sweeping the team hotel and the bus route to the stadium for any potentially vulnerable spots, after the game the Saints took on the tone of their surroundings at FedEx Field where tailgaters and fans seemed wholly unaffected all day.

Laughing and boisterous after the victory, a dozen players and staff, including Saints coach Jim Haslett and quarterback Aaron Brooks, went so far as to open the metal barricades, stepping past police in order to get closer to friends, family and fans. They signed autographs, posed for pictures and hugged relatives. Then, reacting to a group of Saints fans wearing huge wigs and painted faces and chanting "SU-PER BOWL!" defensive tackle Martin Chase climbed into the driver's seat of the first bus and honked the horn.

The crowd loved it, including a teenage fan dressed in Brooks' No. 2 jersey who was waving a particular brand of hat that seemed to sum up the entire scene:

No Fear.

David Fleming is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine