Back from the Brink: Saints Fans Bask in Post-Katrina Super Bowl Victory

Four and a half years ago hurricane waters nearly sunk the great city of New Orleans. But last night something very different flooded the streets of NOLA: confetti, tossed by exuberant fans reveling in the New Orleans Saints dramatic 31-17 win over the favored Indianapolis Colts.

It was an emotional victory for the team and the city — their first Super Bowl win ever — and it somehow seemed to symbolize how far New Orleans has come since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina less than five years ago.

“Louisiana, by way of New Orleans, is back,”  Saints owner, Tom Benson, shouted to a packed crowd in Miami while hoisting the Lombardi Trophy high in the air. “And it shows the whole world.”

From the Ninth Ward to Bourbon Street, Saints fans rejoiced, the trauma of Katrina seemingly a distant memory as they adorned themselves with beads, proudly held up their Saints jerseys and excitedly hugged strangers in the street. And as we told you two weeks ago, just appearing in the Super Bowl was thrilling for fans of this team. But a win? That was the unexpected and much-celebrated icing on the cake.

"First we got a black President and now the Saints have won the Super Bowl," Juan Dismuke, who lost his home in Slidell to Katrina, told the New York Daily News. "I guess the stars are lining up for us here in New Orleans."

Perhaps nobody symbolized the poignancy of the victory better than the Saints own quarterback: Drew Brees. He arrived in NOLA back in 2006 and was battered and vulnerable much like the city itself. He had suffered a debilitating shoulder injury, and several other teams passed on him, doubtful he would be able to recover. Yet Brees not only recovered but improved, and along the way he embraced his adopted city, raising money and spirits for an area recovering from the worst natural disaster our nation had ever seen.

“Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening?” Brees said after the game, according to The New York Times. “Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. All of the residents evacuated across the county. Most people not knowing if New Orleans could ever come back or if the organization or team would ever come back.”

But New Orleans did come back, and so did he. And the world seemed to celebrate along with him and his city in the moments after the game when the quarterback held his baby son, Baylen, in his arms, tears of joy in his eyes.

The Saints Super Bowl victory occurred less that two weeks before the start of Mardi Gras and, now the city that's always known how to party better than any other is planning the biggest and best celebration New Orleans has ever seen.

The horror of Hurricane Katrina can never be washed away from the hearts and minds of New Orleans residents, but the Saints jaw-dropping victory allows the city to celebrate not only a football win, but how far they have come.

Photo courtesy of David Remer's Hammer Photography via Flickr