Perhaps that underappreciated philosopher, Kim Kardashian, said it best: “New Orleans deserves this.”
The reality TV star is dating running back Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints, who won the Super Bowl Sunday night. The victory came four years and five months after Hurricane Katrina almost wiped the city off the map.
The Saints’ only championship in their 43-year history is emblematic of New Orleans’ recovery. When residents had reason to give up, their spirit prevailed. They rebuilt their homes and their lives.
Katrina had damaged severely the Saints’ stadium, the Superdome, where thousands sought refuge from the storm. The team was forced to play “home” games in 2005 in San Antonio and Baton Rouge. People questioned whether the team would ever return to New Orleans.
Some people also questioned whether New Orleans itself was worth rebuilding. But the city and its residents provided the answer through their perseverance. The home of jazz could not be beaten down, not even by a calamity of biblical proportions.
That spirit has been at work quietly since late summer in 2005. But it was put on display all at once when the Saints triumphed over the Indianapolis Colts, and joyous fans spilled into the streets of the Crescent City. No single moment better illustrates how far the city has come back.
With the Saints’ victory, the list of NFL teams yet to win the Super Bowl is down to 14. The Eagles are still on that list.
But if any other city deserved to claim the prize before Philadelphia, New Orleans did.
 | Join on Facebook |  | Follow on Twitter |
- Brendan Calling
- City Howl
- City Paper's "The Clog"
- Commonwealth Confidential
- Daily Kos
- Heard in the Hall
- HuffPost
- Inquirer Editorial & Commentary
- Judges on Merit
- Metropolis
- The Pennsylvania Policy Blog
- Phawker
- Plan Philly
- phillyist
- philadelphia will do
- Philly Clout
- Philly Post
- Qewz: News in Perspective
- Trudy Rubin
- School Notebook
- Talking Points
- WHYY It's Our City
- Will Bunch/Attytood
- Young Philly Politics
- Dick Polman
- NewsWorks
- February
- January
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- News | Sports | Business | What's Happening | Restaurants & Food | Entertainment | Living | Marketplace | Jobs
