Saints Shock Colts, Win Super Bowl XLIV

SAINTS 31

COLTS 17

They are the Aints no more.

The New Orleans Saints are world champions for the first time in their once star crossed history. With all of Louisiana and parts of the country pulling for the Saints to deliver to their fans, who were once ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2006, winning this Super Bowl is big for this franchise.

No one in their right mind would have thought the Saints would beat Peyton Manning and the Colts. Sure, the Saints were 13-0 this year, and were the number one seed in the NFC playoffs, but beating a four time MVP and former Super Bowl MVP in Manning was not going to be easy.

Once New Orleans fell behind 10-0, they could have easily folded under the brightest lights the franchise has ever played under. Not this Saints team. Not with Drew Brees and Sean Payton leading the way.

The Saints dominated from the second quarter on. They allowed the Colts to score on seven points the rest of the way, and the New Orleans offense kept the Manning and the Colts offense on the sideline for most of the evening.

With Indianapolis up 10-6 coming out of halftime, the Saints pulled some trickery. They attempted an onside kick, and recovered it at the 40. From there Brees picked apart the Colts D, completing four straight passes to move the ball to the 23. Two plays later, Brees hit Pierre Thomas on a screen pass at the 10, and Thomas dove into the end zone for the score and a 13-10 New Orleans lead.

The Colts would answer. Manning's 27 yard pass to Dallas Clark set things up at the Saints 20. Joesph Addai took it from there rushing four yards up the middle for the score, recapturing the lead 17-13.

That was as close at the Colts would get to the Lombardi Trophy all night.

On the next Colts possession, the Colts stalled at the New Orleans 33, forcing Matt Stover to come out and kick the field goal. Stover's 51 yarder was wide left, giving the Saints great field position.

Brees slowly picked apart the Colts offense, completing passes of eight here, and six there. Finally, Brees hit Jeremy Shockey, the former N.Y. Giants from two yards out to give New Orleans a 22-17 lead.

The Saints attempted the two point conversion, when Brees hit Lance Moore caught Brees' pass, tried to dive over the end zone line, bobbled the ball, still held on, and was pushed out of the end zone by a Colts defender.

The original ruling was that Moore had bobbled the ball and it was incomplete. However, replay showed that Moore held on to the ball, and it was across the goaline, even though he was tumbling and spinning on top of his head. Two point conversion good. Saints lead 24-17.

Later in the quarter, Tracy Porter put his name in the books, and delivered the Lombardi Trophy to New Orleans when he stepped in front of a Manning pass, picked it off and went to the races for a 74 yard touchdown, giving the Saints an insurmountable 31-17 lead.

The commercials? Just dreadful, the worst ever. The Super Bowl halftime show featuring The Who? Forgettable. Was Super Bowl XLIV a classic? No. But to the people of New Orleans, who had to sit through 42 years of absolute misery, this was their Magic Moment.