Jackson Free Press

The New Orleans Saints rallied from a 10-0 first-quarter deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. Bless you, boys. And now New Orleans is throwing the biggest party in Big Easy history.

An interception by Louisiana native Tracy Porter sealed the game for the Saints with less than five minutes to go. Porter stepped in front of a Peyton Manning pass meant for Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne, and ran the ball back 74 yards to end the Colts fourth quarter drive and put the Saints up by 14 points.

It was Porter's second fourth-quarter interception in as many games, as he was also responsible for a key drive-ending pick of Brett Farve in the Saint's NFC Championship win over the Minnesota Vikings. Porter missed the middle part of the season due to a severe knee sprain, but was back with the team in time to make a remarkable impact in the playoffs.

Previous Comments

ID

155812

Comment

Preliminary numbers show this was the highest-rated Super Bowl in 23 years (since Super Bowl XXI, Giants v. Broncos in 1987, with Phil Simms defeating a young John Elway in the Giants' first Super Bowl), and likely to be the largest total viewership ever, topping 100 million. http://www.nola.com/superbowl/index.ssf/2010/02/new_orleans_saints_victory_ear.html

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2010-02-08T12:09:40-06:00

ID

155813

Comment

Why you gotta bring up the Bronco's loss? I'm still stinging from that one. Probably a lot like the sting most of these new Saint's fans felt from straining themselves jumping onto that crowded bandwagon, then trying to look like they've been there all along. GASP! That was you under that paper bag? Just be happy about your own win and leave off the comparisons to real football teams like Denver. Y'all should enjoy this one it will probably be another four decades 'til the next one. Brees is no Elway.

Author

WMartin

Date

2010-02-08T12:42:50-06:00

ID

155815

Comment

Score typo fixed above now. Thanks, John V., for pointing it out.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2010-02-08T12:52:17-06:00

ID

155816

Comment

Just be happy about your own win and leave off the comparisons to real football teams like Denver. (A.) The comparison was *ratings* for the *broadcast*, not teams or players. Overreact much? ;-) Y'all should enjoy this one it will probably be another four decades 'til the next one. Brees is no Elway. (B.) I agree. Brees is Brees, a name that folks will remember for a while. (They will remember it forever in NOLA.) He just put his legacy in overdrive and we'll see where he can take it from here.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2010-02-08T14:20:00-06:00

ID

155818

Comment

Update: According to MSNBC the game was the most-watched program in U.S. television history, surpassing the finale of M.A.S.H. in 1983.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2010-02-08T14:29:52-06:00

ID

155827

Comment

Most watched in U. S. History! I'm surprised the bandwagon could hold all those people jumping on in recent days. Must have been a big wagon and a very good band. Lord, what's going to happen when the Cubs finally wins it all in baseball? I've seen lots of comments about the Super Bowl commercials. My favorite was the Doritos one that involved the man bringing flowers to the lady and then sitting down with her little boy and grabbing a Dorito. The child slapped the man and said keep your hands of my Doritos and my moma. That made me laugh. The others didn't connect very well with me, especially the one with Betty White. The Oprah, Leno and Letterman one surprised and stunned me.

Author

Walt

Date

2010-02-08T18:37:10-06:00

ID

155828

Comment

Most watched in U. S. History! I'm surprised the bandwagon could hold all those people jumping on in recent days. Must have been a big wagon and a very good band. It's New Orleans, baby! Of course there's a good band. I'm still trying to take it all in, but one thing that I think I can say about this is that people love to wonder about New Orleans. No other town in the U.S. is NOLA, with its mix of European and African influence, its history, food, music, attitude, architecture...and, of course, modern-day story line. The Super Bowl pre-game was devastatingly emotional for a football pregame -- I'm still looking for someone to post video of that Wynton Marsalis piece -- and that couldn't have hurt. It also promised to be a helluva game, and it was. I was getting texts from my family during the game (rare occurrence) and noticed a few folks in other corners of the country on Facebook saying things like "I didn't expect to be watching the Super Bowl, but here I am" and "I'm the last person to watch the Super Bowl, but..." This is 10 or so million more than watched last year, Walt -- it's always pretty popular -- but there's no doubt that it had both the makings of the Hollywood ending (in Hollywood, Indy would have been a little more unlikeable -- like the Steelers) and a real-life drama. And a *great* game. This will probably be the first sporting event that I ever actually pony up $$ to buy the DVD. (Although, there is the 1994 perfect game by Kenny Rogers as a Ranger that I'd still like to own. ;-)

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2010-02-08T18:54:48-06:00

ID

155829

Comment

Oh, and the number two household concentration for the game (behind New Orleans) wasn't Indy, it was D.C. -- combo of the snow and the storyline kept a lot of folks in the house watching the game.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2010-02-08T18:57:10-06:00

ID

155846

Comment

I just read where they are trying to make a WHO DAT NATION license plate. Have y'all heard about that?

Author

Queen601

Date

2010-02-09T11:10:36-06:00

ID

155852

Comment

I guess the fight has finally ended about who the originator is of "WHO DAT". One thing we all know for sure is: DIS and DAT are truly from the dictionary of EBONICS. LOL!

Author

justjess

Date

2010-02-09T11:37:48-06:00