Reliving the New Orleans Saints' emotional 2005 NFL season

As we look back at the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago, it's almost impossible not to think about the influential roles coach Sean Payton and the Saints had in helping New Orleans rebuild.

The mayor of city, Ray Nagin, told Sports Illustrated's Peter King at that time, "the Saints mean everything to this community right now. We need them now more than ever, at least until we get back on our feet."

SEE MORE: How Tulane's student-athletes came together during the storm

The Saints played through a miserable 3-13 campaign in 2005, but even though they didn't post many wins on the field, they represented victory off it.

In addition to helping the community in a variation of ways, Payton's club played its entire season splitting the home games between the Alamodome, Tiger Stadium and Giants Stadium and four college football games were forced to find new hosts as the dome underwent fixes.

SEE MORE: Special coverage on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

But those fixes were finished in time for the 2006 football season, and when the Superdome finally returned, it was as if the city itself had been rebuilt. Fans flocked to the venue for its first Monday Night Football game on Sept. 25, 2006 to watch their Saints take on the Atlanta Falcons. What they saw was nothing short of magical.

New life was pumped into the desperate city.

Early in the first quarter, with the crowd already buzzing, Steve Gleason broke free to block a Falcons punt and return it for a crowd-energizing touchdown. It was the first score of a 23-3 route for the Saints and a first-place finish that took them all the way to that year's NFC Championship Game.

The healing process, especially for football fans, began with cheers. Take a look through the gallery above to relive the entire inspirational season.

A CITY AND ITS TEAMS, LINKED FOREVER

MORE ON AOL.COM:
Illustrating 10 years of recovery
Hurricane technology evolution