New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy as he leaves the airport Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, in Kenner, La., after the Saints returned from the NFL football Super Bowl. The Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 on Sunday, for the first championship in franchise history.

People lined up by the hundreds to buy Monday's Times-Picayune, which hollered "AMEN!" from its front page. The Saints' Super Bowl victory was a prayer answered in this struggling city, and New Orleans itself seemed different for it. Swarms of fans in black and gold greeted the players as they stepped off a chartered plane at the suburban airport, cheering them with "Who...