Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, 6:30 p.m.: Bourbon Street waits nervously.10:00 p.m.: Mardi Gras comes early.

The New Orleans Saints’ victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Super Bowl Sunday will forever be remembered by the city of New Orleans. Since Aug. 28, 2005, when hurricane Katrina devastated the city, New Orleans has looked for something to cheer itself up for besides a successful restoration.

As a child growing up in Boston, sports ingrained themselves in me. I bleed Red Sox red. Heart-wrenching losses affect my mood and Boston’s mood.

The past couple of years, I often wondered whether my love for sports held true meaning, whether sports held true meaning.

Sunday, my wondering halted.

I’m not saying that the Saints’ championship means the end of New Orleans’ struggle. Since 1803, New Orleans has been the United States’ most unique city. Its blend of ethnicities, food, architecture, religions, holidays, and people made New Orleans unlike any other city in the world.

Then Katrina tried to wipe away the city’s uniqueness. New Orleans became a city trying to recover from Mother Earth’s wrath.

Buildings have been rebuilt, schools have re-opened, and people have moved back. But the city’s culture now has a significant Katrina stigma attached to it.

However, the city’s spirit hardened, and that provided the backbone to New Orleans’ recovery. But a full restoration of the city was still decades away.

So the Saints came marching in. The city’s football team was one of the first symbols of recovery on a national level. On Sept. 25, 2006, the Saints played in the Superdome for the first time since Katrina. New Orleans’ citizens packed the Superdome for football, not shelter.

Rooting for a sports team requires spirituality. In 2003, the Red Sox had not won the World Series in 85 years. I sat in specific spots on the couch depending on the inning. I had friends who touched walls after every pitch. When we lost to the Yankees in the playoffs, my friends and I took it personally. And so did Boston.

In 2004, our 86-year drought ended. My spots on the couch worked. My friends and I felt free, and so did the city of Boston.

When your team wins, it’s like yelling at a streetlight to turn green, and it does, but tenfold. I can’t imagine what Sunday’s victory felt like for Saints fans.

Saints fans’ “sports spirituality” was unique. It wasn’t just about the team and its fans. Their spirituality also had the passion of a city rebuilding itself.