Leading article: Bowled over

The Super Bowl has always been the quintessence of modern Americana: the glitz, the hype, the ludicrously expensive commercials, the half-time rock'n'roll and the strange sport which only North Americans take seriously.

The 44th Super Bowl outdid itself in all of these departments and also gave a little bit more thanks to the victory of the New Orleans Saints over the Indianapolis Colts. It was the Louisiana team's first Super Bowl appearance and it came just four and a half years after Hurricane Katrina devastated "The Big Easy".

The Saints' stadium, in which tens of thousands took shelter in 2005, became an international symbol of the misery of a city and the shame of a nation. But in New Orleans yesterday it was party time.

In other words, Super Bowl XLIV delivered the classic Hollywood ending of happiness and redemption. And Brangelina was there to witness it all too. God bless America.