Congrats New Orleans (Mardi Gras starts Early this year)

Wrong, wrong, wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong if I even wanted to. Lets recap the predictions from earlier:

Reggie Bush didn't score. Thomas won the battle of the Pierres by matching Garcon's touchdown but racking up more total yards. Manning toppled the 300 yard marker but didn't come close to the 4 touchdowns (or the MVP) and Brees missed the 350 yard marker by a solid 62 yards. And lets not forget, The Colts didn't score 41 points, nor did the win.

The Saints of New Orleans took care of that last part.

I can't be mad about it. What kind of monster would be (only acceptable answer is: if you're driving around your town right now after watching The Colts blow the game trying to figure out a way to tell your family that your child will not be going to college unless he gets a job to pay for it). We should feel happy for the city, and for the people involved. We know about the Hurricane that destroyed their city. We know about how this team has become the great escape for the hardships that the Big Easy faces.

We know about the season they had. Admit it, they had a great year. They were undefeated for 13 weeks and finished 13-3. We all know about Sean Payton, who took the Saints coaching job after Katrina not even sure how long the Saints would be playing in New Orleans. They were coming off horrendous seasons, and were in the middle of a natural disaster. How could they expect anyone paying to see a shitty team. The franchise as a whole had 2 playoff wins in it's entire existence. That didn't phase him. He viewed it as an opportunity. Look at him now, he has created the most exciting offense in the NFL and is getting fitted for his championship ring as we speak.

We know about Drew Brees. Drafted out of Perdue in 2001 by the San Diego Chargers. He didn't produce a lot of wins in his first three years and threw more INT's then Touchdowns (29-31 if you need the stats). Feeling like Brees wasn't the answer and they needed a change, San Diego drafted Eli (the younger) Manning(In case you forgot about that debacle I'll give you a recap: Eli was drafted by the Chargers. Eli refused to play in San Diego because he hates half naked girls and sunshine. Eli demanded a trade. And in a move of genius San Diego swaps Eli for Philip Rivers and Cash. Rivers has put up awesome fantasy stats but Eli has a ring).

Brees looked like the odd man out. But when Rivers held out for more dough he got a second chance and took advantage. Led San Diego back to the playoffs while throwing 27 Touchdowns and posting a 104 quarterback rating. San Diego made up it's mind though. And after five seasons they just let Drew Brees walk away.

He came to New Orleans, and not only has been the key to rebuilding a franchise but has had a huge hand in rebuilding a community. His mother died over the summer (they had a falling out a couple of years ago, but still, thats his mom) and he had a baby in the last year.

As he held his baby at the podium tonight, accepting his MVP trophy, you could see every emotion run through his face. He fought back the tears and thanked God, and called his little boy his "inspiration".

Drew, thats not your inspiration. Thats your good luck charm.

The Saints weren't supposed to win. Vegas had them as a 5 point dog to the 3 time (possibly soon to be 4 time) MVP Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts. The line could've been 7. Both teams packed explosive offenses. Neither team kept opposing offensive coordinators up at night. This felt like it was going to be the game we talked about when Mannings name came up 30 years from now. It felt like he was going to do something statistically mind numbing. Thats what was supposed to happen.

It was easy to forget that Drew Brees threw for 5000 yards last year. And threw another 4300 yards and 34 touchdowns this year. I mean for how good he is, how could he out duel Manning? Brees doesn't have an MVP, he doesn't have a ring and he doesn't have an SNL appearance. Peyton had all three. His team finished with a better record and put away opponents more convincingly throughout the playoffs. Clearly this was his game to win.

It made too much sense.

Plus, how often does the best story win the Superbowl? The Saints had the rabid, tortured fanbase. They had their city torn down. Their franchise had done a complete 180 over the last four years. How often does that team win?

The Giants didn't capture the World Series after the earthquake. Mariners didn't win when they won 116 games after loosing three of the biggest stars in successive seasons. Brett Favre lost in the NFC title game in his last game as a Packer (the best story would've been if he took them to the Superbowl, won, then retired). The Patriots were 18-0 heading into the Superbowl in 2007, then lost to the Giants.

We never get the BEST story.

So here comes the Saints. The 5 point dogs. The City on the mend and a tortured franchise. Down 10-0 with everyone thinking "Holy shit Peyton is going to tear them apart." The narrowed the score to 10-6 by half time on two second quarter field goals, then completely dominated the Colts by outscoring them 25-7 in the second half.

Down 24-17, Manning set out to do what he has done so many times, drive down the field with the game winding down for a game deciding score. He had 5 minutes to get the touchdown. We've seen it before, we knew how this was going to end. The question wasn't IF the Colts were going to score, it was how much time they were going to leave the Saints.

At least thats what we thought was going to happen.

All that changed when Manning through an errant pass to Reggie Wayne, and Terrance Porter picked the pass off and took it straight back into the endzone. Un touched. 31-17. Ball game. Congratulations to The New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees, Sean Payton, and the people of New Orleans. You played a great game and absolutely deserved that win. Party on Bourbon Street.