NEW ORLEANS -- People lined up by the hundreds to buy Monday's Times-Picayune, which hollered "AMEN!" from its front page. The Saints' Super Bowl victory was a prayer answered in this struggling city, which seemed different because of it.

Swarms of fans in black and gold greeted the players as they stepped off a chartered plane at the suburban airport, cheering them with "Who Dat!" chants. The Saints, cellar dwellers for decades, delivered not just their first Lombardi Trophy but optimism for their city, a new sense that the unimaginable -- better schools, less crime and even honest politicians -- really is possible.

 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Drew Brees turned to his wife when he woke up and asked: "Did yesterday really happen?"

The Saints and their fans awoke Monday to the realization that the once lovable losers from New Orleans were Super Bowl champions for the first time in the club's 43-year history after Sunday's 31-17 triumph over the Indianapolis Colts.

 The Super Bowl. Easily the best sporting event of the entire year. It's the time when the two remaining teams in the National Football League compete for the most cherished prize of all: the Lombardi Trophy.

Just about every Super Bowl has provided at least one memorable play for fans to remember. Marcus Allen's 74 yard touchdown run. Max McGee's one handed touchdown grab. John Riggins' 4th and 1 touchdown gallop.

Since the conclusion of the 1966 season, the National Football League has held 43 Super Bowls, with the 44th coming on February 7th. The following is a ranking of every Super Bowl ever played, from worst to best.

Individuals don't win Super Bowls.

Teams win Super Bowls.

Football is the ultimate team sport: No QB succeeds without blockers, neither does any rusher. No offense breaks through without some help from their defense. No wide receiver looks great without someone getting the ball to him.

Mistakes, even the tiniest ones, are magnified when teams get to the biggest stage.

Here are the top duos ever to shine when the brightest lights were on them.

MIAMI -- In its new role as a warmup to the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl became a series of wind sprints.

Long gains were the rule and hard hitting was the exception as the AFC beat the NFC 41-34 on Sunday night.

Light showers fell for much of the game, stirring memories of a rainy Super Bowl in Miami three years ago. But uniforms remained mostly spotless, with more pushing and shoving than tackling.

Full coverage of the AFC NFC Probowl

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner might be more of a hero in St. Louis today than he was when he took the relocated Rams to two Super Bowls during his six years playing there.

The Rams chances to improve on their league-worst one win in 2009 just improved after Warner retired after 12 seasons Friday. St. Louis has been to the playoffs just once since Warner's release in 2003, and the playing field in the NFC West has been lowered today.

The NFC West champion Cardinals have been weakened, just as the Rams were when they thought Marc Bulger was the answer instead of Warner. Unlike in St. Louis -- and with the New York Giants -- Warner's departure this time was voluntary.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Kurt Warner has called an end to one of the great storybook careers in NFL history.

The 38-year-old quarterback announced his retirement from the game on Friday after a dozen years in a league that at first rejected him, then revered him as he came from nowhere to lead the lowly St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls, winning the first of them.

"Not much on the drama part of it, as most of you know," Warner said to begin a news conference at the Cardinals' training facility.