One of the things that's beautiful about New Orleans is how culturally rich we are and how well we have worked together. People call us a gumbo. It's really important that we get focused on the very simple notion that diversity is a strength it's not a weakness.

We have been working with Habitat for Humanity and we have built eighty homes 80% of which are being lived in by New Orleans' musicians. It is called the Musicians' Village and at the center is the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.

New Orleans life is such a night life. The thing that comes up very often is that our day essentially doesn't start until midnight or 2 in the morning.

We were poor. But my mom never accepted that. She worked hard to become a residential contractor - got her master's with honors at the University of New Orleans. I used to go to every class with her. Her father was my paternal figure.

New Orleans more than many places I know actually tangibly lives its culture. It's not just a residual of life it's a part of life. Music is at every major milestone of our life: birth marriage death. It's our culture.

These past years as we have been recovering and given our city a rebirth we have been encouraged by our faith knowledge and steadfast belief that we will pull through. There will be challenges and setbacks as there have already been but we will continue and we the citizens of New Orleans will prevail in bringing our city back.

I have no doubt that the government of this great nation will work with its people to lead New Orleans and the Gulf Coast back to an enlightened proud safe part of the world.

I'm sure that there are reasonable people that had some reasonable projections about the future of New Orleans but none of those could include not trying to rebuild the city and make it better than it was before.

In '71 or '72 I returned to New Orleans and stayed there. I started cooking Louisiana food. Of all the things I had cooked it was the best-and it was my heritage.

There have been nine Super Bowls in New Orleans and not all of them have brought the best of luck to NFL Films. We got robbed twice there got food poisoning and my hotel room was broken into on the day the Bears played the Patriots in January 1986.

Creole is New Orleans city food. Communities were created by the people who wanted to stay and not go back to Spain or France.

My food is Louisiana New Orleans-based well-seasoned rustic. I think it's pretty unique because of my background being influenced by my mom Portuguese and French Canadian. There's a lot going on there.

In America I would say New York and New Orleans are the two most interesting food towns. In New Orleans they don't have a bad deli. There's no mediocrity accepted.

You look at public education system charter schools infrastructure in so many ways New Orleans has come back stronger.

You should celebrate the end of a love affair as they celebrate death in New Orleans with songs laughter dancing and a lot of wine.

My dad loved black singers. So listening to New Orleans music eventually I wanted to play an instrument.

Well my dad was the district attorney of New Orleans for about 30 years.

My dad was the district attorney of New Orleans for about 30 years. And when he opened his campaign headquarters back in the early '70s when I was 5 years old my mother wanted me to play the national anthem. And they got an upright piano on the back of a flatbed truck and I played it.

You know for 300 years it's been kind of the same. There are restaurants in New Orleans that the menu hasn't changed in 125 years so how is one going to change or evolve the food?

I've been all over the world. I love New York I love Paris San Francisco so many places. But there's no place like New Orleans. It's got the best food. It's got the best music. It's got the best people. It's got the most fun stuff to do.

My last trip to New Orleans was for the fifth anniversary of Katrina and I had the awesome opportunity to bring my family down. We all worked on a house together and met some of the families.

So while an incredible amount of progress has been made on this fifth anniversary I wanted to come here and tell the people of this city directly: My administration is going to stand with you - and fight alongside you - until the job is done. Until New Orleans is all the way back all the way.

New Orleans in an amazing town.

The Madden NFL franchise holds a special place in popular culture and the cover is a coveted position for players all over the league. I'm honored to be the first cover athlete chosen by Madden NFL fans and it's a great way to cap off an amazing year for the Saints and the city of New Orleans.