Hurricane Katrina struck on August 26, 2005, flooding the low-lying coastal city. Hundreds of people died in their homes after the levees broke and water levels rose above the rooftops. Even more died in the chaos that followed, including some of those stranded in the Superdome football stadium that served as a shelter.

Since then locals have had good reason to be angry at the sluggish pace of recovery. But as the fortunes of their underdog team began to rise, residents of a city once obsessed with its wrongs began to greet each other on the street with the cry: "Who Dat?"

Once they wore paper bags over their heads to save themselves the embarrassment of being identified as fans of the team formerly known as the "Aints". This season, the team in black and gold were the top points scorers in the National Football League, winning the first 13 games of the campaign.

Fans say the side has become as much a symbol of their city as a sports team, a rallying point for those still suffering from the after-effects of the aftermath of the hurricane.

As the final neared, Super Bowl fever swamped the Big Easy. Everything from Mardi Gras parades to church services and jury trials were rescheduled to make sure fans could catch the kickoff of their team’s first-ever shot at the NFL championship.

Even the strippers on Bourbon Street stopped dancing. Instead, they joined thousands of revellers cheering the Saints on live television sets at nearby bars.

“We have no music, no stages. It’s the first time I’ve seen a club shut down and I’ve been doing this for five years,” said Sam Stonebraker, 34, a host at Rick’s Cabaret.

“The game is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime event in this city."

Saints fans - dressed in the team colours - cheered from bleachers as they watched their team take the field on televisions mounted outside a bar at Fulton Street mall across Canal Street from the French Quarter. Some fans wore beads caught at a passing parade earlier in the day.

Outside the Chart Room, a gritty French Quarter bar, a man costumed as a black-and-gold warrior from the Star Trek movie series, pointed to a “78” on his armoured chest - the number of his favourite Saint, tackle John Stinchcomb.

“This is what New Orleans deserves,” said the warrior, Larry Jehle Jr, who works at a local hospital. “We have all been through so much in the last five years."

Four generations of one family gathered for a Super Bowl party in the Bucktown neighbourhood a short walk from the 17th Street Canal which burst during Katrina.

“The Saints are not the same as other teams in other sports,” said Lisha Barre, a doctor who flew in from Colorado to watch the game with her family. “They represent the rebirth of the city."