NEW ORLEANS — This week in WBRZ history, the New Orleans Saints made their triumphant homecoming to the Superdome after the team — and the city — were forever changed by Hurricane Katrina. 

More than a year after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005, the Saints and thousands of loyal fans returned home on Sept. 25, 2006, in a game that would be immortalized as the first step toward a historic run for the team.

The return to the Dome was months in the making, relocating the Saints to Tiger Stadium, San Antonio's Astrodome and other temporary stadiums for the 2005 season. The total price tag for repairs, including dealing with mold and mildew caused by rain that poured into the stadium, was $158 million.

But once the repairs were done, Who Dat Nation returned to the Dome to cheer on the Saints during the second game of the 2006 season.

Around a minute into the game against the Atlanta Falcons, Steve Gleason blocked a Falcons punt, allowing Curtis Deloatch to run the ball into the endzone. Gleason's blocked punt was immortalized, cast in bronze outside the stadium years later as a reminder of this "Rebirth Game." 

The Saints went on to win the game 23-3. The Saints would then go 10-6, the team's best record to date, and make the playoffs for the first time since 2000. 

The Saints, led by Sean Peyton and Drew Brees, would eventually win the Super Bowl during the 2009-10 season, something people said would only happen "when pigs fly."

Though Gleason, who eventually became diagnosed with ALS and became paralyzed, retired in 2007, the team awarded him a Super Bowl ring for his contributions to the team that started during the Domecoming game in 2006.

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