Amid chants of &#8220Who Dat?” Vicksburg-area Saints fans who couldn’t be at the sold-out Louisiana Superdome in person, gathered at their favorite sports bar in town to cheer the Gulf South’s team return home.

The Saints played their first true home game in two years in New Orleans after spending last season as vagabonds with &#8220home” games in New York, San Antonio and Baton Rouge following the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

And they didn’t go home disappointed as the Saints defeated the archrival Atlanta Falcons, 23-3. And that’s where the &#8220Who Dat?” came in. It was a throwback to the mid-1980s when Saints fans left the Dome chanting, in the colloquial &#8220Yat,” &#8220Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?”.

Donald Quick, a Metairie resident who evacuated after the storm, would not have missed this one.

&#8220I was an evacuee and I lived here for five months at Charlie Borrello’s house,” said Quick, who gathered with others at The Loft on Washington Street. &#8220My house in Metairie had 3 feet of water. I’m back in it and I’m back at work with Harrah’s (Casino). But I’m glad to be back up here tonight with my friends.”

Quick was quick to say that having the Saints back in the Dome is a tremendous boost for the New Orleans area.

&#8220It means our city is back to normal,” Quick said. &#8220This time last year, the police were using Harrah’s as their headquarters. We were able to open back up in mid-February and now with the Saints back, everything is great.”

Charlie Borrello, owner of Borrello’s Italian Restaurant, said the Saints return is a big spirit booster.

&#8220It definitely will help the city economically, but more than that the Saints are the spirit of the city. This is a new start for them,” said Borrello who has several friends in the New Orleans area. At least 30 of them, including Quick, spent at least a week at his house in Vicksburg.

&#8220Most of them were family and friends. We had 32 for about a week and then 20 or so stayed a month, some longer than that.”

&#8220Some stayed in our basement. They were from ages 2 to 70,” added Holly Borrello, Charlie’s wife. &#8220And they were all Saints fans.”

Mark Smith says he’s been a Saints fan since birth. Ironically, he was born in the same year the Saints began to play in the NFL.

&#8220I was born in 1967. They returned the very first kickoff back for a touchdown in their first game. My Dad and I loved the Saints,” Smith said.

Mark and his wife, Tracy, were season ticket holders with both the Saints and Ole Miss.

&#8220I really didn’t think the Saints would be back after what happened last year,” Smith said.

&#8220We’ve always loved the Saints but we also love Ole Miss. We kept our Ole Miss season tickets,” Tracy Smith said. They were at the rainy game Saturday night in Oxford when Wake Forest beat the Rebels 27-3.

Mark Smith said the last Saints game he and Tracy went to was in 2004, the last year in the Superdome before Monday night’s game against the Falcons.

&#8220It was also against the Falcons. Atlanta had a three-touchdown lead. The Saints came back but then we couldn’t get the onsides kick.”

Angela Lovins became a Saints fan through her grandfather.

&#8220My grandfather never missed a home game,” Lovins said. &#8220Until the year he died (2001), he would drive from Vicksburg down there and was at every home game.”

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