Saints beats Colts in Superbowl

New Orleans quarterback, Drew Brees, equaled a Super Bowl record for completions and was voted the game's most valuable player, while the Saints held his Indianapolis counterpart, Peyton Manning, to a single score in the final three quarters, intercepting him for a touchdown that sealed the victory.

From the trophy podium on the field, Brees blew kisses and caught confetti raining down as New Orleans musicians, Dr. John and Professor Longhair, blared from the stadium speakers. Coach, Sean Payton, hung over the railing clapping and shouting down to the crowd as if he were rolling on a Mardi Gras float, then waved a newspaper with the banner headline “WORLD CHAMPS.”

New Orleans knows how to celebrate, but for the beleaguered city and its long-bedraggled NFL franchise, the championship touched off a new kind of joy.

“Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was under water?” Brees said. “Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back. We just all looked at one another and said, `We are going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.' This is the culmination in all that belief.”

Nearly an hour after the game, Saints fans kept chanting their rally cry, “Who Dat?” One player climbed into the stands, others tossed their sweaty padding to souvenir seekers, and Payton held up the Lombardi Trophy so fans along the railing could touch it.

“I just wish we could split it up in a lot of little pieces,” Payton said.

New Orleans still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, an NFL title is sure to accelerate the healing. It was the Saints' first appearance in a Super Bowl, and few outside of Louisiana foresaw a victory, with Indianapolis a 5-point favorite.

“We really felt as underdogs we had the better team,” Payton said. “To be in that position where maybe a lot of people were picking against us, we liked the spot we were in.”

The Saints weren't thrilled to fall behind 10-0. Manning directed an early 96-yard touchdown drive that tied a Super Bowl record, and when New Orleans managed only one first down on its first two possessions, a blowout seemed possible.

Instead, the Saints mounted a comeback to match the largest in Super Bowl history, and the onside kick turned the tide. The last chord of “Won't Get Fooled Again” from rock band The Who's halftime show had barely faded when the Colts got fooled.

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