NATCHEZ — A local woman got the treat of a lifetime last month when she won a contest to meet New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.

Ruby Gibbs won the mail-in contest, sponsored by Pepsi, to meet Bush on Dec. 18 in New Orleans and play a game of Madden NFL 2008 on an X-Box 360.

Gibbs also received the game and the system as a gift.

Gibbs said she never expected to win the contest when she filled out the entry form and mailed it in.

“I was surprised,” she said. “But I was very excited. I made a lot of phone calls.”

Gibbs was one of four winners from around the Southeast, one from each of the Pepsi distributors. Gibbs was sponsored by local distributor Brown Bottling Group.

“She was our winner,” Brown Bottling Group General Sales Manager Moe LeBlanc said. “It was a fun experience for her and us as well.”

Gibbs, who is originally from the New Orleans area, savored the chance to return to the city and meet Bush, who she said was a pleasure to be around.

“He was a pleasant young man,” Gibbs said of the running back. “He was very respectful and took as many pictures and signed as many autographs as was asked of him. He was patient with everyone and didn’t refuse anybody.”

Gibbs wasn’t familiar with the X-Box 360 but said Bush took it easy on her for the first three quarters.

“But in the fourth quarter, he showed me what all he knew,” she said with a laugh.

While meeting Bush was a delight for Gibbs, it also made her much more popular with her two grandsons, ages 15 and 11.

“The grandchildren were so excited,” she said. “They can’t wait to see grandma now.”

But they shouldn’t expect their grandmother to give them the X-Box and Madden NFL 2008 game. Gibbs said she plans on keeping it.

“I’ll enjoy watching them play with it when they come to visit,” Gibbs said. “And who knows, maybe they can show me some things too.”