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Saints Come Marching in Victory Parade

February 9, 2010 / 6:46 PM EST / CBS/AP

The Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints are celebrating Mardi Gras-style.

Carnival floats carrying players, coaches and team owner Tom Benson started rolling through downtown New Orleans for a victory parade Tuesday.

The celebration comes two days after the team earned its first championship in franchise history. Quarterback Drew Brees and other players were throwing beads into the crowds as confetti floated in the air. One float carried an oversized replica of the Super Bowl trophy.

Special Section: The 2010 Super Bowl

The Mardi Gras-flavored parade includes 12 marching bands and one float each from 10 krewes.

The Saints' 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts capped just the ninth winning season in the team's 43-year history.

On Monday, the team returned home to jubilant fans, who showered them with "Who Dat!" at the airport.

"The Saints kept hope alive in this city that better days were coming," said Shannon Sims, a 45-year-old criminal court administrator, as she waited for the team. She said the Saints "were the force that kept us moving forward."

The Superdome, once a symbol of sorrow for Katrina refugees, is now the home of champions, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

In the French Quarter, stragglers from an all-night party Sunday turned to coffee and beignets as dawn broke Monday.

The team's big season came four years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and destroyed thousands of homes and small businesses.

"After Katrina everyone was hurting," said Derek Stevens, 27, who was still on Bourbon Street at dawn. "The Saints was the one thing we had that was positive, that made us hopeful."

Long-suffering fans throughout the city shot off fireworks, danced in the streets and second-lined down the St. Charles Avenue streetcar tracks.

On Monday morning, Bourbon Street crews worked at dawn to clean up the remnants of the street party that began before the game ended and stretched into the new day.

"It was crazy the whole day," said Earl Wheeler, 21, a bartender at one of the Bourbon Street clubs. "It was one really good time. Lots of love going around. But I was too busy to watch the game. I'm going home to do that today."

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