Congratulations are in order for the New Orleans Saints, who defeated the Indianapolis Colts last night for Super Bowl XLIV, 31-17. It was a game that many thought would be high scoring, very close, and in a Colts victory. But the Saints had another plan, and I think most football fans (outside of Indy, of course) were rooting for Who Dat Nation.



The Colts started out hot and ready to show the Saints how you play in a big game. At one point, Indianapolis was up 10-0 and looking to keep the gas on the pedal. By halftime, they were up 10-6, which included a huge stop against the Saints inside the Colts 5 in a 4th down attempt. But the second half would tell a different story starting with the opening kickoff. The Saints came out aggressive, with an onside kick to start the 2nd half of the game. New Orleans capitalized and Drew Brees threw a 19 yd screen pass to RB Pierre Thomas for the go-ahead score, 13-10.





Of course, that didn't stop Manning and company, who responded with a score on their own, after a 4 yard run from Joseph Addai that put the Colts ahead, 17-13 with 6:15 in the 3rd qtr. That would be the last the Colts would score for the rest of the night.





The Saints took control from then, on out. They scored 17 unanswered points, including a critical Manning INT on a slant pass that Tracy Porter turned back 74 yards for the final nail in the coffin and victory sealer







Ballgame. Even though the Colts had another opportunity to score, you could feel the victory in the air. The Saints, won the game, and deservedly so. They are Super Bowl Champions.

Drew Brees won Super Bowl MVP, who completed 32 passes and threw for 2 scores.

While Brees viewed by sports media as fans as being on the cusp of elite, his Super Bowl win and MVP status has pushed him over in a category his belongs in. While some people say that Manning is one of, if not the best QB of our time, last night was Brees >>>> Manning. Add Brees to the elite class, now. He earned the right to be there.

With the Saints win, the city of New Orleans has become one big party. While Fat Tuesday isn't until next Tuesday, it's probably safe to assume that New Orleans started a 9-day party extravaganza, starting with the team's Super Bowl win. With everything the city of new Orleans has been through, with the bad football they have seen over the years... they are finally proud to say they are fans of a Super Bowl champions- the team's first ever. The connection from the team to the community was already strong. But yesterday's win elevated that to a new level that no one knew could exist.

Congrats to the New Orleans Saints- Super Bowl Champions. We were all rooting for you.