Some 393 days ago, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. Category 5 winds and waves crushed the city of New Orleans, her residents forced to flee, strewn across the nation like so much wind-tossed debris. Katrina’s impact was at once great and incomprehensible, leaving behind a wake of death and devastation. Even now, 13 months later, the images come rushing back to us all too easily: people standing atop their roofs as helicopters passed over; the corpses floating down vacant city streets; houses completely reduced to sawdust and rubble; government officials clumsily passing the buck back and forth. We asked ourselves, “This can’t be happening here, can it? Not in the United States.” But as the nightmare continued, we became cognizant of a grim reality: Mother Nature’s worst only served to bring out the worst in humanity. The Superdome, initially an evacuee haven, quickly deteriorated to a prison of sorts, her 30,000 tenants exposed to theft, drug abuse, rape, even murder. Those were dark days, indeed.

But hope was also found in those days. Americans opened their doors, their wallets, their communities to aid the displaced and the broken. The Red Cross was on the frontline, dispensing assistance on many fronts. Where the local and federal governments failed, many churches and civic groups responded, providing water, clothing, and labor. But the road to recovery was long and arduous. Indeed, it is still long and arduous, as the work continues to this day.

Tonight, the New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome for their first home game since Katrina. The Crown Jewel of the New Orleans Skyline has received a $185,000,000 face lift — new scoreboards, new roof, new seats. The team itself spent liberally in the offseason to bring in a new quarterback (former Pro Bowler Drew Brees) and a new franchise tailback (Hesiman Award winner Reggie Bush). But all the money in the world will do little to erase the painful memories that will always be attached to the Superdome. And yet, tonight’s Saints / Falcons matchup represents something this city has lacked for 13 months now: some semblance of normalcy. As Doug Thornton, regional vice president of the private management company that runs the Superdome says, “The citizens have lost so much, the last thing they wanted to lose was their football team and their stadium. If we can rebuild this place, there’s hope for the neighborhoods.” And so tonight, New Orleans welcomed the return of her beloved Saints.

Let’s face it: it’s just a football game, right? The Saints 23-3 shellacking of the division-rival Falcons will do little to assuage the pain this city continues to feel. The rebuilding process will begin again tomorrow, just as it has every day for the past 13 months. But then again, it’s never just a game, certainly not on a night like tonight. Not in a place like New Orleans. At least for one night, this beleaguered city could forget about all her pain and tragedy and enjoy a few hours of football & fun, Brees & Bono, pigskin & pageantry. Drink deeply, New Orleans. Tomorrow will come soon enough. Tonight, you deserve a night to forget.