Sunday, August 1, 2010

Saints quarterback never lost belief in inspiring Super Bowl triumph for city still recovering from hurricane devastation

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees claimed his side’s victory in Super Bowl 44 was down to a potent combination of faith and fate.

The playmaker, who completed a Super Bowl record-tying 32 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns in the Saints’ come-from-behind 31-17 triumph over the Indianapolis Colts, revealed he was never in any doubt over the game’s outcome.

“We just believed in ourselves,” said Brees, who was named Most Valuable Player for his in-game contribution. “We knew we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us. It was all meant to be. It was all destiny.”  And the win - the first in Saints’ history - was certainly a story-book ending for a city still recovering from the 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina, a fact acknowledged by Brees.

“After Katrina we looked at each other and said: ‘We’re going to rebuild together. We’re going to lean on each other’,” he said. “That’s what we have done the past four years and this is the culmination in all that belief.”

Saints safety Roman Harper agreed, saying: “We put this city on our back four years ago and now it’s all worth it.”

Just over four years after the Saints’ stadium became a house of horrors for those trapped by floodwaters, their win touched off the biggest celebration of all in a city known as a place to party.

“New Orleans is back and this showed the whole world,” Saints owner Tom Benson said.

The Saints had been losers for most of their 43-year history and fell behind 10-0 to the Colts before bouncing back to deny Indianapolis a second title in four seasons.

“You can’t put it into words.

The city and region have been through so much.

They have been so supportive this whole time,” Saints receiver Marques Colston, who caught seven passes for 83 yards, said.

“We knew this was going to be a hard Super Bowl, but we believed in each other and we got it done. It’s incredible.”

It was Tracy Porter’s 74-yard interception return touchdown that sealed the victory.

Porter stepped in front of Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, picked off a pass from star Peyton Manning (pictured left) and returned it to the endzone to put the Saints ahead by the final margin. And despite knowing how much the city of New Orleans will revel in their win, Manning admitted it didn’t ease the sting of defeat, saying: “I understand how excited the Saints and the city of New Orleans are, but we’re very disappointed and we’re sorry to our fans that we weren’t able to get it done.”