I have to admit it from the outset: I was rooting for the Colts. As a fan of the Panthers, bitter rivals of the Saints, I had to root against my longtime nemesis in black and gold. Even though the Saints were regarded as the underdog, and had seemingly every non-Colts fan behind them, I knew that the Saints were more than a worthy opponent, and I always find it fun to take the road less traveled anyway. My hatred of the Patriots and their cheating, dynastic ways also led me to pull for their rival, Peyton Manning. I loved the precision with which he dissected defenses, the picture-perfect spirals he weaved in between defenders, and the way he got the most out of Division III-trained rookie receivers and the like. He used to struggle in big games, but everyone knew those days were behind him. Manning had won the Super Bowl MVP after the 2006 season, as his Colts beat the Bears, and since then, he has apparently shed his previous reputation as a great quarterback who struggled in important games. That last Super Bowl victory was in Miami, the same location as this year’s game against the Saints. Everyone (by everyone, I just mean I) had assumed that Manning would validate the fourth league MVP award he had won this year by dismembering the Saints’ secondary en route to a high-scoring victory.
As it turns out, everyone (…I) could not have been more wrong. Sure, Manning marched down the field on his first two drives for a field goal and an excellent touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon, and the Colts’ defense held the Saints to two field goals in the first half, but this game was a tale of two halves. After halftime (which, by the way, included a superb performance by The Who), the Saints turned the most-watched television event in American history on its head. Coach Sean Payton called an onside kick to open the second half, a rarely used play that had, in fact, never previously been called in the Super Bowl before the fourth quarter. The move surprised the Colts, and the Saints recovered the ball, swinging the momentum and the crowd completely to their side. Saints quarterback Drew Brees (who tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions and passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns) immediately took control of the game from Manning, storming down the field for a touchdown and the 13-10 lead. After that, it was clear that New Orleans had the momentum, but Manning continued to excel, leading another touchdown drive of his own to regain a four point lead. Another Saints field goal had me feeling pretty optimistic, considering the Colts were heading into the fourth quarter with a one-point lead and the ball. I was unnerved, however, as I’m sure many Colts fans were, when Manning was unable to get a play off before the third quarter expired simply because he was unaware of how little time was left. This seemed to be a departure from the recent incarnation of Peyton and a return to his former skittish, insecure ways. Little did anyone know what was coming in the final quarter.
The Colts were unable to score on that drive to start the fourth, with their 44-year-old kicker missing a 51-yard field goal that would have put them up four. That also meant the Saints had the ball at their own 41-yard line, superb field position. Brees continued his stellar play, completing six straight passes and a touchdown to tight end Jeremy Shockey. The Saints proved that the momentum was on their side when a two-point conversion catch by Lance Moore, initially called incomplete, was controversially ruled complete after the referee reviewed the replay. At this point, the Colts were down seven with just over five minutes left. Manning had already led the Colts to 35 fourth-quarter comebacks in his career, including seven this season alone, and the question was not whether the Colts would score, but how quickly? The Saints have been in existence for 43 years, and had only won two playoffs game ever before this season. They had already matched that total in getting to their first ever Super Bowl; surely they would disappoint their fans yet again by failing to slow down the league’s best player (who completed 31 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown in the game)?
As it turns out, Manning is human after all. He made a terrible throw to Reggie Wayne that was picked off by Tracy Porter and returned for the game-clinching touchdown with just over three minutes left. As that play happened, you could see the entire Saints’ sideline erupt into celebration, and it was easy to imagine the recently devastated city of New Orleans doing the same. The bold onside kick, the refusal to back down against a supposedly superior foe, and the pure jubilation and sense of resurgence that the victory brought to a city that deserved it, all combined to make me doubt my initial allegiance to the Colts. As the country celebrated, united in compassion for Katrina-ravaged New Orleans’ beloved Saints finally refusing to collapse, Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees, who recently lost his mother to cancer, held his infant son on the confetti-drenched field. That heartwarming moment was the last straw—I found myself celebrating for the Saints as well.
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