MIAMI (AP) – The New Orleans Saints turned the Super Bowl’spostgame celebration into something out of the French Quarter.

From the trophy podium on the field, Drew Brees blew kisses andcaught confetti raining down as Dr. John and Professor Longhairblared from the stadium speakers. Sean Payton hung over the railingclapping and shouting down to the crowd as if he were rolling on aMardi Gras float, then waved a newspaper with the banner headline”WORLD CHAMPS.”

Who are the champions? The New Orleans Saints, dat’s who.

The Saints overcame an early 10-point deficit, pulled off arisky onside kick and won their first NFL title by beating theIndianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday night. Brees tied a Super Bowlrecord for completions and was voted the game’s MVP, while theSaints held Peyton Manning to a single score in the final threequarters, intercepting him for a touchdown that sealed thevictory.

New Orleans knows how to celebrate, but for the beleaguered cityand its long-bedraggled NFL franchise, the championship touched offa new kind of joy.

“Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening when85 percent of the city was under water?” Brees said. “Most peopleleft not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if theorganization would ever come back. We just all looked at oneanother and said, ‘We are going to rebuild together. We are goingto lean on each other.’ This is the culmination in all thatbelief.”

Nearly an hour after the game, Saints rooters kept chantingtheir rally cry, Who Dat? One player climbed into the stands,others tossed their sweaty padding to souvenir seekers, and coachPayton held up the Lombardi Trophy so fans along the railing couldtouch it.

“I just wish we could split it up in a lot of little pieces,”Payton said.

With the city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, an NFLtitle is sure to accelerate the healing. It was the Saints’ firstappearance in a Super Bowl, and few outside of Louisiana foresaw avictory, with Indy a 5-point favorite.

“We really felt as underdogs we had the better team,” Paytonsaid. “To be in that position where maybe a lot of people werepicking against us, we liked the spot we were in.”

The Saints weren’t thrilled to fall behind 10-0. Manningdirected an early 96-yard touchdown drive that tied a Super Bowlrecord, and when New Orleans managed only one first down on itsfirst two possessions, a blowout seemed possible.

Instead, the Saints mounted a comeback to match the largest inSuper Bowl history, and the onside kick turned the tide. The lastchord of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” from the Who’s halftime show hadbarely faded when the Colts got fooled.

“That really becomes like a turnover,” Payton said. “We knew wewere going to call it at some point. At halftime I told them,’We’re going to open up the second half with this. Let’s go make aplay.'”

The Saints had spotted a flaw in the Colts’ alignment, but theyneeded for kicker Thomas Morstead to put the ball in playproperly.

“I was terrified and excited at the same time, because I knew wecould do it if I executed it,” Morstead said.

The Saints’ Chris Reis emerged from a huge scrum with the ball,and six plays later Brees’ 16-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Thomasgave them a 13-10 lead.

Manning and the Colts answered with a 76-yard touchdown drive,so the Saints had to rally again. Brees threw for another score, a2-yarder to Jeremy Shockey, and this time they were ahead to stay,24-17.

With barely three minutes left, the Colts’ last chance was forManning to make an open-field tackle, and that wasn’t going tohappen. Tracy Porter returned an interception 74 yards for theclinching score, with Manning spinning awkwardly to the turf atmidfield in his vain attempt to stop the score.

An anticipated shootout between the NFL’s two highest-scoringoffenses never materialized. Manning finished 31 for 45 for 333yards, and the Colts outgained the Saints by 100 yards. But Indyscored on only one of its final six possessions against a Saintsdefense that ranked 25th during the regular season.

“We probably never got into a great rhythm,” Manning said.

The Colts came up shy in a bid for their second NFL title infour seasons. Four-time NFL MVP Manning used the word”disappointing” at least 10 times in his postgame interviewsession.

But the New Orleans native could appreciate what the resultmeant to Louisiana.

“I certainly know how it was three years ago when we won,”Manning said. “I know the people of New Orleans and the Saints havethat same feeling right now.”

Garrett Hartley, hero of the NFC title game with his overtimefield goal, made kicks of 46, 44 and 47 yards to keep the Saintsclose, and Brees put them over the hump. He went 32 for 39 for 288yards and two scores, and the Saints scored on five of sixpossessions as the game swung their way.

“We just believed in ourselves, and we knew that we had anentire city and maybe an entire country behind us,” Brees said.

Long derided as the Aints for their futility, the Saints becamenomads after Katrina in 2005. The NFL refused to abandon the city,and the Saints won the NFC South in 2006, their first season withBrees and Payton.

This winter they swept three postseason games after winning onlytwo in the previous 42 years.

Bon temps roulez.

“This championship is for you, New Orleans,” Brees said.