Saintly Reprieve for a Broken City

NEW ORLEANS -- Jan. 11, 2007— -- The white convex roof of the Louisiana Superdome -- fractured by the lashing wind and water of Hurricane Katrina -- is whole again.

You can see it on this balmy, drizzling January day, hovering above the still-recovering city. Sixteen months ago, the home of the New Orleans Saints, an island floating in the surge of Lake Pontchartrain, became the enduring symbol of shelter from the lethal storm. Today, a yawning sign hangs on the side:

Our Home Our Team Be A Saint

There is still plywood in place of glass in some storefronts on sprawling Canal Street, chunks missing from art-deco building facades. Yet hope is tangible in the black-and-gold "We Believe" signs posted all over in the French Quarter and the Saints flags that fly from the porches of the stately mansions in the Garden District.

After a cathartic (and, in retrospect, predictable) 3-13 season that featured "home" games in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge and the Alamodome, team meetings in the San Antonio Convention Center and practices at a nearby high school facility, the Saints have rediscovered their true home.

Drive about 15 minutes northwest of the city on Airline Drive, turn left when you see the New Orleans Zephyrs' stadium, walk past the ticket office in the lobby of the Saints' rebuilt facility, take two quick turns and you're in the locker room.

Michael Lewis, the feisty little kick returner who was born in New Orleans, sits in front of his stall and touches his heart.

"The city believes," Lewis says, with feeling, "because we believe."

It's really that simple.

Amid 40 seasons largely fraught with frustration, the Saints find themselves in the playoffs for only the sixth time. They have a single postseason victory -- a 31-28 wild-card victory over the St. Louis Rams in December 2000. But with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Saturday night's divisional playoff game, the Saints would march into the NFC championship game, a new threshold for this historically struggling franchise.