What is interesting after a memorable Super Bowl is the fact that pretty much everyone outside of Indiana wanted the New Orleans Saints to beat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.
Rooting for the underdog has always been part of sports but the Saints weren’t that much worse than the Colts, after all they were the No.1 seed from the NFC.
But the Saints were the romantic team and following all the troubles New Orleans as a city has gone through, their football team was seen as a way of bringing a torn city together, no more evident than when quarterback Drew Brees spoke after the game.
"We play for so much more than ourselves, we played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for the entire ‘Who Dat’ nation that has been behind us every step of the way,” Brees said.
So when Colts QB said before the game they were going to treat the match like a road game it was clear the only upset on Sunday would have been if Indianapolis beat the supposed underdog Saints.
As it happens the surprise of the day came in the form of the Colts’ subpar performance, especially considering the impressive start they had to the game, taking a 10-0 lead courtesy of a Matt Stover field goal and a beautifully timed touchdown pass from Peyton Manning to Pierre Garcon.
For all the accolades Manning has received throughout his career he couldn’t produce his best form in the game that really mattered, despite starting like it was just another regular season game.
The turning point came in the second quarter when the Saints held possession for an incredible 13 minutes. They only managed to score two field goals for all their domination but the key was keeping Manning to just one completion, and it would be a 70-minute wait before he would complete his next pass.
And if dominating the second quarter wasn’t enough Saints head coach, Sean Payton, to everyone’s surprise, called for an onside kick after half-time which remarkably worked. And the resulting drive led to a Pierre Thomas 16-yard touchdown. Cue euphoria in the stands and in New Orleans.
Manning did lead the Colts down the field on the next drive to retake the lead, Joseph Addai running the ball in from four yards making it 17-16.
Manning, whose father played quarterback for the Saints, might have been the regular season MVP but it was Brees who was playing like one, finding a rhythm which seemingly made him unstoppable.
Brees completed 32 of his 39 passes for 288 yards with two TDs. His 32 completions are tied with Tom Brady for the most in Super Bowl history. Jeremy Shockey was the recipient of one of those passes in the endzone and the party in New Orleans was getting started. When the Saints completed the two point conversion via a challenge you can imagine the chaos going on in New Orleans.
Then the unthinkable happened: a play which won the Saints the game; a play which normally would never happen; a play which resembled more Brett Favre rather than Peyton Manning.
Trying to pick out Reggie Wayne, Manning – under pressure from a blitz – hurried a pass to his wide receiver but Tracy Porter read the play like a book and intercepted the ball and returned it for a 74-yard touchdown.
Game over.
Three minutes 12 seconds for Manning to find two scores. He couldn’t even find one and so 43 years after being established the New Orleans Saints became Super Bowl champions for the first time in their history.
Head coach Sean Payton always said those who dare win and the onside kick was a dare which paid off with amazing dividends.
"We're going to be aggressive, we'd seen the onside kick all week and guys executed it well. It turned out to be a big change of possession."
Manning’s legacy will now be re-assessed given his failure to deliver on the night, but take nothing away from a team and city which deserves some glory more than any other.
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