Bourbon Street is rocking. In fact, the entire French Quarter is ready to party like it’s Mardi Gras.

The New Orleans Saints have pulled off the improbable, stunning the Indianapolis Colts in this year’s Super Bowl 31-17.

In the annual championship game for the year 2010 (which is becoming more and more increasingly difficult to decipher what Super Bowl year it is with all the letters instead of numbers-XLIV, or the 44th), the Saints could not have won their first world championship in franchise history at a better time.

People seem to forget the horrible aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a hurricane that virtually destroyed a symbolic American city in the late summer of 2005. The Saints’ home, the Louisiana Superdome, served as a refuge to thousands who were stranded in the murky waters of what had been a flourishing city.

The victory from the Saints is just another step closer to blurring out a graphic image that haunted the city for years after Hurricane Katrina. The Saints have given the people of New Orleans a restored sense of hope and pride that has been strongly absent over recent years.

Led by quarterback Drew Brees and running back Reggie Bush, the Saints are now a team to be reckoned with. A refutable history of, ironically, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning’s father, Archie Manning, leading a team that struggled to win, Brees and Bush have revamped a struggling franchise back to the top, and ultimately a team that can gain some well-deserved respect. 

Head coach Sean Payton has been the guru behind a talented Saints’ squad that has restored the values and traditions of New Orleans culture with the victory over the Colts.

I congratulate the New Orleans Saints on their victory, another underdog climbing to the top. Although I’m not a die-hard fan, I can say with pride that I was one of the far and few who truly believed the Saints would be able to overpower Peyton Manning’s Colts.

Party hard New Orleans. The prelude to Mardi Gras has just begun.