20 Years of Rebirth: The Saints, Hurricane Katrina, and the Night That Changed Everything
A City Under Water
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans with unrelenting force. When the levees failed, 80 percent of the city was underwater. Entire neighborhoods were wiped out, families displaced, and thousands of lives lost. The Louisiana Superdome, once a proud symbol of community, became a shelter of last resort for more than 30,000 people. The images of the Dome—its roof torn apart, its hallways filled with suffering—broadcast to the world the scale of the city’s devastation.
For many residents, it felt like everything had been taken away. Homes, schools, livelihoods—gone overnight. And for a time, it looked as if New Orleans would also lose its football team.
Tom Benson and the Threat of Relocation
As the city struggled to recover, Saints owner Tom Benson quietly explored a permanent move to San Antonio. The Saints had been forced to play “home” games there in 2005, and Benson had long clashed with Louisiana officials over stadium deals. With Katrina as the backdrop, relocation suddenly seemed possible.
“People thought we wanted to move the club to San Antonio,” Benson later admitted. “But hey, we were flooded out. We couldn’t play here.”
Yet to many New Orleanians, the idea of losing the Saints was unthinkable—a final blow to a city already on its knees.
That’s when NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stepped in. Recognizing the Saints’ role in the city’s cultural fabric, he told Benson and league owners in no uncertain terms: the Saints were staying in New Orleans. Tagliabue rallied political and business leaders, oversaw the Superdome’s $185 million renovation, and helped secure the team’s long-term place in the city.
Reflecting later, Tagliabue called it “the most significant thing in terms of keeping faith with the community” during his tenure as commissioner.
The Night the Dome Came Back to Life
On September 25, 2006, New Orleans held its breath. For the first time since Katrina, the Saints would play a home game inside a rebuilt Superdome. More than just a sporting event, it was a declaration: the city was still here.
The night began with a concert by U2 and Green Day, a fitting prelude to what felt like a national celebration. Inside, the Dome buzzed with an energy that could only come from 70,000 people desperate for joy after so much pain.
Saints safety Steve Gleason remembers standing on the sideline during the national anthem, overwhelmed. “It is impossible for us to lose tonight,” he thought.
Minutes later, came the play. Falcons punter Michael Koenen stood deep in his end zone. Gleason broke through the line, extended his arms, and blocked the punt. Curtis Deloatch recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.
The roar that followed was indescribable. Quarterback Drew Brees later said, “There was not a dry eye in the house. It was like a shotgun blast.” Head coach Sean Payton called it “as loud a moment as I can ever recall at a sporting event.”
For the people of New Orleans, the play was bigger than football. Former mayor Ray Nagin summed it up best: “That moment was the moment the Saints became America’s team.”
The Saints went on to win 23–3 that night, beginning a magical season that carried them all the way to the NFC Championship Game. Outside the Dome today, a statue called Rebirth immortalizes Gleason’s blocked punt—a permanent reminder of resilience.
From Pain to Glory
Just years later, the Saints reached the mountaintop. In February 2010, they defeated the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, delivering the first championship in franchise history. Drew Brees holding his son aloft amid falling confetti remains one of the most iconic images in NFL lore. For New Orleans, still rebuilding from Katrina, it was a gift of pride and joy no storm could wash away.
20 Years Later
Today marks the 20th anniversary of Katrina. The scars remain—empty lots, lost lives, and memories of a city brought to its knees. But so too does the resilience. The Saints are now in a new era under head coach Kellen Moore, but the legacy of those years still defines the franchise.
Two decades ago, the Saints could have left. Instead, they stayed, they fought, and they gave their city something to believe in.
On that night in the Superdome, when Steve Gleason stretched his arms to block a punt, he blocked despair, too. The city found its heartbeat again, and 20 years later, the echo of that roar still lives on.
