Growing up, I always had a football in my hand. Since the day i became familiar with the National Football League, I have been a die hard New Orleans Saints fan. That's not to say that I don't root for the Cowboys every year as well. The Cowboys have been down "glory road" plenty of times however, the Saints had NEVER drove down that road before Super Bowl XLIV.
From the paper bag sacks worn as masks, to the familiar nicknames(the Ain'ts, and the Can'ts), the Saints have had one disappointing year after another. Never in the existence of the New Orleans Saints, has the team made it to the Super Bowl. Never had one shot to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, but four and a half years after Hurricane Katrina broke the levees protecting the city of New Orleans, the Ain'ts earned their first letter back and became the Saints.
After a season of unforgettable plays and comebacks that gave the Saints the number one seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Saints entered the playoffs as, believe it or not, underdogs. The Saints rolled through the first 13 games with ease before stumbling in the back stretch and losing their final three games of the regular season. They looked out of sync, but the Saints put the theory to rest when they demolished the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round of the playoffs. But then there was Brett Favre.
In the NFC Championship game, the Saints hosted Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.
After a game that went back and forth, Favre and the Vikings were driving the ball into field goal range with the final minute ticking away in the game. Favre however, made what may have been the best pass in the ball game if you were a Saints fan. Favre threw a bad pass over the middle after scrambling out of the pocket to his right, only to get intercepted by Saints cornerback Tracy Porter. The game would end up going into overtime, where Garrett Hartley would seal the Saints victory with a field goal. On to the Super Bowl for the "Aints", where they would face another next to impossible foe, Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.
The Super Bowl started out very scary for the Saints. The Colts jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead, and held the lead going into halftime with the score 10-6. Sean Payton, the Saints head coach, had a trick up his sleeve however. The Saints lined up to kick the ball starting the third quarter. Everything looked normal, nothing out of place. That is until the kicker for the Saints held up at the last minute and sent a perfect onside kick that bounced off the hands of a Colt's player and recovered by the Saints. The game was all in the hands of Drew Bress and the Saints offense after that. They drove the ball effectively and grabbed a 24-17 lead in the 4th quarter. After a scary Colts drive, Peyton Manning threw what was probably his only bad throw of the game, and Tracy Porter was there to take advantage again. Porter cut in front of the receiver and intercepted the pass, taking it all the way back for six. 31-17, was the final score, and the city of New Orleans finally got something to cheer about.
It was destiny, and I, being a Saints fan, could not have waited much longer for this perfect ending to a promising season. The Saints aren't the Aints no more. They are for real. ....
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