NEW ORLEANS - For anyone who questioned why the Saints would go back to a flood-ravaged city, or wondered if a football game could really make a difference in the lives of people mired in misery, you have your answer.

New Orleans was a rollicking, raucous sight to be hold Monday night. Fans in the Superdome let loose with a party a year in the making, and there was a rare feeling of hope in the streets.

Residents will be putting the pieces of their lives back together for years to come, and the city will never quite be the same. For a few glorious hours, though, New Orleans was the Big Easy once again.

“I wish we could have had the entire population inside this dome,” said Steve Gleason, who smothered a punt to get the Saints' 23-3 rout of the Atlanta Falcons off and running.

“That's who we were playing for. I was out there playing my butt off for the people of this city,” Gleason added. “Like I said man, infinite joy.”

Too often, we make sports and the athletes who play them bigger than they are. Players refer to their games as wars. Fans who won't remember who did what to whom five years from now act as if their lives depend upon the outcome.

Sometimes, though, sport does transcend the hype and allows us to show the best of what we can be. This game - indeed, everything about this whole Saints season - was one of those times.

When Katrina roared through New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, many figured the Saints would be one of its casualties.

The team had been on shaky ground before Katrina. No way it could come back to a city picking itself up out of the flood waters. The Superdome was ravaged by wind, rain and the thousands who took shelter there. Entire parts of the city were destroyed, and less than half of the population is back a year later.

But those who had the Saints bound for San Antonio or Los Angeles underestimated the people of New Orleans. After decades of delighting in what sets their city apart, they're finding strength in the one thing that pulls them together.

“We need this team,” said Dawn Murray, dressed in Saints colors right down to her gold shoes. “It crosses all lines. It's not Democrat or Republican. It's not rich or poor. It's not black or white. It's black and gold.”

They've already showed their staying power, buying out the dome for the entire season for the first time in history. On Monday, they showed the country their spirit, shaking the rebuilt arena with their cheers and “Who Dat?” chants.

They may not have made a single play on the field, but they were as much a factor in the rout as Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and every other Saint.

“These people are special,” said Falcons coach Jim Mora, whose father is the winningest coach in Saints history. “And resilient and tough and proud of their city, proud of their football team. It really showed.”

So much so the Saints awarded the city their game ball.

“This is their reward from us,” Deuce McAllister said. “Three hours of joy.”

But it was so much more than that. What everyone else saw as another game was their respite from an endless recovery effort. A rare reminder of what it was like to feel normal.

In the French Quarter, happy fans with smiles on their faces, beads around their necks and drinks in their hands filled the streets. Everywhere you looked, people were in black and gold. There was even a baby decked out in Saints gear, right down to his bib.

Around the Superdome, the transformation was nothing short of amazing.

On most days, there's little traffic in the area. Several buildings remain shuttered, the mall next to the arena is a ghost town and there isn't much else to entice anyone to visit.

On this day, though, it was party central. Bands played and fans milled about several hours before kickoff, happy to be killing time again before a game. Scalpers paced the sidewalks, asking if anyone had extra tickets.

Every seat in the Superdome was filled 30 minutes before the game began, and fans danced and sang while U2 and Green Day rocked out. High up on the facade below the top deck, a simple black and white banner read, “Thank You America! New Orleans & Saints Are Here To Stay!”

“Tonight the word 'homecoming' will take on a new meaning and will forever be redefined by what is happening here in the Superdome,” former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.

One game doesn't mean that all of New Orleans' problems are solved, of course. The rebuilding will go on for years. Even the goodwill surrounding the team and owner Tom Benson will surely be tested.

There's no guarantee fans will continue to sell the Superdome out as they do year after year after year in Green Bay, New England and Indianapolis. It remains to be seen, too, if there will be the wealth to fill the luxury boxes that are the lifeblood of pro sports.

Those are problems for another day. For one night, the good times were rolling again in New Orleans.