"No two cities are more unalike than Boston and New Orleans," essayist Andrei Codrescu once wrote. But for a 48-hour period last weekend, New Orleans was Boston.

With the French Quarter inundated with Patriots fans, Bourbon Street took on a distinctly New England cast, hosting a post-Patriots-victory crescendo of chanting, high-fiving, and, yes, drinking. Clothed in every variety of Patriots’ paraphernalia — Steve Grogan’s #14 game jersey, old-school Pat Patriot sweatshirts, Minuteman tricornered hats — fans from Swampscott to Scituate and Maynard to Mansfield reveled in the win.

Less than an hour after the victory, one group of Patriots fans converged on a camera crew from St. Louis’s Fox News 2, who were attempting to do a live shoot outside Jackson Square. They roared behind the reporter, and one snarling white-haired New Englander had to be separated from the Channel 2 producer. "You never gave us any respect," he shouted as friends and a police officer tried to wrestle him away from the hapless TV man. "You guys won the game. Why are you so angry?" the producer implored. Even in the midst of joy, this ever-bitter fan found something to resent. How very Boston.

Despite this incident, good spirits pervaded the atmosphere — which could not quite be described as Mardi Gras–like. Though Fat Tuesday was only a few days away, the typical scene in the French Quarter was that of an army of men clad in Patriots shirts marching up and down Bourbon Street congratulating each other. Perfect strangers introduced themselves — a rare occurrence in Boston, but common in the friendly Mediterranean city on the Mississippi. Nick Gordon, 24, of Salem, organized an impromptu rally of more than 100 fans on Bourbon Street. "We proved we were a team of destiny," Gordon exulted. Nearby stood engineer Joe Curnane, of Wakefield, and his son Joe Curnane Jr. Father and son wore pristine shirts with the old Patriots logo. Curnane still lamented the Patriots’ performance in the 1986 Super Bowl, when coach Ray Berry started the cowardly Tony Eason over the courageous Steve Grogan.

Old and young basked in the great reversal of fortune that had taken place. Maybe they’ll return to Boston with a little bit of New Orleans inside them.