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It was so much more than a game of American football. When the New Orleans Saints lifted the Super Bowl title in the early hours of this morning, their victory symbolised the city's resurgence after the worst natural disaster in US history.
Celebrations broke out spontaneously in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Thousands joined the party along Bourbon Street, and brass bands played When The Saints Go Marching In. The team's star quarterback declared that Mardi Gras had begun nine days early.
Previously known as lovable underdogs, the Saints came from 10-0 down to defeat favourites Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Miami and claim the first Super Bowl in their 43-year history.
The team's success had helped to heal the wounds caused by Hurricane Katrina, which left more than 1,800 dead when it tore through the Gulf Coast in August 2005.
Katrina left 85 per cent of the city under water and sparked mass evacuations. Many residents spent two years living in trailers, and high-water marks are still visible from the floods.
An editorial in the city's newspaper, The Times-Picayune, summed it up. “Since Hurricane Katrina the Saints are much more than just a football team — they are a civic cause,” it said.
“The storm transformed our region into a metaphor for despair and tragedy in the eyes of the world, but the Saints gave us reason for optimism. They embodied our resilience and our unity.”
Saints owner Tom Benson said: “Not only the city but the entire state of Louisiana and New Orleans is back. It shows the whole world we're back.”
Coach Sean Payton, who was credited with masterminding the turnaround at half-time, said: “The coaching staff and everybody back in New Orleans gets a piece of this trophy.”
The Saints had been forced out of their stadium by the storm, returning a year later to a sell-out crowd after a £120 million refit.
But the team gave much more back to New Orleans. Quarterback Drew Brees, who joined Saints six months after the hurricane, bought a home there in solidarity with the battered residents. Players raised millions of dollars to rebuild the city. Individually, there are stories of them quietly paying shopping bills for hurricane victims who had lost everything.
“A football player's average career is a few years,” linebacker Scott Fujita said. “It's about trying to do good things in that very limited window of opportunity.”
One fan summed up the importance of the victory to New Orleans. Latoya Melancon said: “For the first time in almost four years, I finally feel whole again.”
Brees dedicated the victory to his young son Baylen — and predicted that celebrations would start early for Mardi Gras. He said: “We knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us. I have tried to imagine what this moment would be like for a long time. It's even better than expected.”
Praising God, Brees, who was voted the game's most valuable player, added: “It was all meant to be. It's all destiny. Mardi Gras may never end.”
He added: “But not only the city came back, and the team came back… when the players got there, we all looked at one another and said, We're going to rebuild together.'
“We played for so much more than ourselves, we played for our city and we played for the entire Gulf Coast region. They were behind us every step of the way.”
Reader views (5)
Rubbish - they won because they played better as a team. The Katrina thing from how many years ago, was just emotional packaging tagged onto the game. The only tie with New Orleans that most of the players have is that they live there in the up-market millionaire's sector.
Saying the win was because of Katrina is saying that the Colts didn't deserve to win even if they'd played better on the day.
- Rogan, Irving, 08/02/2010 19:37
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Actually Jj....it was a very exciting game. Seeing a team get spanked in the 1st quarter, stabilise in the 2nd, hit back in the 3rd and then provide the knockout in the 4th was pretty good entertainment. Always good to see the underdog triumph
Being a Londoner I will always be a Football & Rugby fan above every other sport. However, if you're prepared to give other sports a chance and get to know a bit about them they can be just as entertaining.
- Rob, NYC, 08/02/2010 14:09
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In terms of excitement and gameplay, the Superbowl and American "football" in general falls slightly behind pro-celebrity grass growing and a third division match from the amateur paint drying championship.
- Jj, London, 08/02/2010 11:33
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Pete H. obviously stayed up and watched it and is a tad tired this morning.
- Steve, London, 08/02/2010 11:33
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Yawn.
- Pete H, London, 08/02/2010 10:03
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