And the Saints Come Marchin' In...

After an angry and destructive bitch named Katrina made landfall on August 29th of last year, the city of New Orleans was left with little hope. Streets were flooded, some so high that only rooftops of the small ranch style homes could be seen. Hundreds of thousands of people found themselves displaced, with out a single personal possession other than the wet clothes on their backs.

Now, some 16 months later, the water has pulled back into the gulf. Some people have come home and tried to piece together what’s left. And for those few trying to rebuild a semblance of life, they have been given a glimmer of hope.

It comes in the form of the New Orleans Saints.

At the start of the season football was an after thought in the Bayou. There was other business to attend to, mainly trying to figure out where to start. But the Saints were quickly thrown into the national media spotlight with a Monday night game just a little more than a year after Katrina pushed inland, in the once wounded Super Dome vs. Atlanta. Stars and stripes flew, men and woman sang and danced in the aisles.

There was a sense of normalcy, a sense of success, and most importantly, a sense of life.

In that game the Saints pounded the Falcons 23-3, moving to 3-0 to start the year.

Fast forward eleven weeks. The 8-4 Saints head to Dallas to face the Red-Hot 8-4 Cowboys who have been taking the league by storm with new QB Tony Romo. This was going to be a huge NFC Sunday night match up. Saints QB Drew Brees had been successful on a weekly basis with a massive aerial assault. Rookie Reggie Bush had made a difference with his explosive play. New Orleans first year Head Coach Sean Payton was an assistant under Dallas’ Bill Parcels. This game had the makings of a monumental contest.

And it was, until the Second Quarter.

With the help of Drew Brees, Payton made short work of his old boss. After falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter, Payton went as far as to call a reverse on 4th and 1, pull off an onside kick with a 35-17 lead in the 3rd, and got virtually every offensive player who was eligible a touch. Brees chucked 5 TD’s and surpassed the 4,000 yard mark for the season.

"We let a lot of people know what we are all about," Brees said.

Yeah, you could say that. At 9-4 the Saints have a 2 game lead over the Falcons in the NFC South. Barring a major injury, these boys from the Bayou may make a big stink in the playoffs.

They’ve been called an inspiration, a positive in a sea of negatives. America’s Team.

Here’s a title that needs to be added: one of the best in the NFL.