For the first time in NFL history, the New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl champions after upsetting the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 31-17 last Sunday in Miami.
Quarterback Drew Brees led the team with MVP honors as he completed 32 out of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.
Receivers Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and running-back Pierre Thomas combined for twenty receptions and 201 yards. Kicker Garrett Hartley nailed all three attempted long field goals while cornerback Tracy Porter sealed the Saints’ victory with just over three minutes to go as he picked off Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning and returned the interception 74 yards for a touchdown.
Founded in 1967, the Saints spent a large part of its early history with the pseudonym “Aints” because of their dismal performances on the field and consistent losses. It took the team over two decades to achieve their first winning season and 33 years to notch their first playoff win. Coming into this season’s playoffs, the Saints only had two total playoff wins in program history. However, in this year alone, they achieved three by knocking off the Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts en route to the Super Bowl.
New Orleans has had a turbulent last few years as it has continued to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The Saints were even displaced from New Orleans for the entire 2005 season because of damage to the Louisiana Superdome, which left it inoperable for home games. They played the rest of the season in both San Antonio’s Alamodome and Tiger Stadium at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA.
I myself was rooting for the Saints in the Super Bowl. I think many people wanted to see the Saints win for the city of New Orleans after all the hardships they have been through the past few years. During this season, the dominance of the Saints week-in and week-out gave many fans from New Orleans an outlet for the harsh realities of day-to-day life.
While I think the victory is well deserved by both the Saints and the city of New Orleans as a whole, I do not think we should get the impression that this Super Bowl victory is going to magically cure the troubles in New Orleans. There is still noticeable destruction from Hurricane Katrina almost four and half years after the disaster, and many people who left the city have still not returned. The rebuilding process in New Orleans has been greatly hindered by the current economic recession.
The Super Bowl victory for New Orleans likely did wonders for the residents’ morale, but once the dust settles at the end of the day, many people will go back to living conditions that are still dramatically affected by the aftermath of Katrina.
By no means am I trying to overshadow the Saints’ victory with more Katrina disaster negativity. The Saints victory should be interpreted as something that has been able to unite the city after Katrina tore it apart.
The Saints are New Orleans’ team and they are the best football team in the world right now. Nobody can take that away from them and the Saints players acknowledged that their victory was for the people of New Orleans who had supported them throughout the years, even when times were tough.
This win was a great reward to a collection of people who are trying to bring a team back from the dead, and I for one believe it was incredibly well-deserved. Even if it is only for a short amount of time, the people of New Orleans can stand tall and be proud that despite everything, their Saints are champions. The people of New Orleans are champions.
The outlook for the Saints looks quite promising. Although half the players on the Saints have expiring contracts at the end of this season, the majority of the team’s core players do not. The consensus around the NFL is that the Saints are willing to keep as much of the team intact as possible.
Quarterback Drew Brees and head coach, Sean Payton, have essentially guaranteed themselves long-term security in New Orleans.
Many of the players, particularly Brees, continue to help the city by not only winning on the field, but in other community outreach programs. Brees has established the Brees Dream Foundation, which works alongside the international charity organization Operation Kids, an initiative aimed at rebuilding and restoring athletic and academic facilities in New Orleans.
It is safe to say there is probably no other player currently in the NFL that means as much to one particular city as Drew Brees does to New Orleans. Not only is he a phenomenal quarterback who led New Orleans to something they never dreamed was possible, but he is also actively trying to help his community in any way he can.
As for outlook of the city, there are rumors that the Saints may be anointed as the 2012 or 2013 Super Bowl host, an honor they have not been graced with since before Katrina. New Orleans is also set to host the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four and the 2012 BCS Championship Game for college football.
For now, the citizens of New Orleans are basking in a wonderful moment in their city’s history. However, many people continue to struggle in the current economy, and are still reeling from the aftermath of Katrina. Maybe the Super Bowl victory does not fix everything right now, but if anything, the story of the Saints is a sign of hope and a step in the right direction for the city.
I would really like to know where the author is from. It’s so easy for people on the outside to look in to New Orleans and form opinions about the city. Unless you live there you just don’t have any idea what’s going on.