Monday 30 January 2017 13:00, UK
New Orleans Saints go marching into the NFL each year with the kind of optimism bestowed to them by the strong Catholic faith in the city of the south.
Football is a religion in the region, so the Saints enjoy a more than passionate following. They also enjoy a more than impressive quarterback in Drew Brees, who is one of the best to ever grace the NFL.
Brees has spearheaded the post-Hurricane Katrina era for New Orleans and has been at the centre of some of the most emotional moments the franchise has ever experienced.
After the city was devastated by Katrina in 2005, including damage to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the Saints had to play their home games away from home for the rest of the season.
It wasn't until the 2006 season that they could return home and welcome their fans back into the Superdome for some football. In a highly emotional return home, they beat Atlanta Falcons 23-7 to begin a new era of high-power offence, led by Brees himself.
It was the start of something truly special. No more than three years later did Brees lead the Saints out at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami for the Super Bowl. New Orleans needed it and the world wanted them to have it. They won the first NFL championship in the history of the franchise with a win against Indianapolis Colts and Brees put in a Super Bowl MVP performance.
The quarterback continued to throw himself into the record books with a number of seriously impressive feats. He went the most consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass (54) and threw yet another 5,000-yard season in 2016. No other quarterback has thrown for 5,000 yards more than once; Brees has done it five times.
The franchise had a slow start without a winning season for 20 years, but the Saints are now well and truly in a new era.
