By Curtis Rockwell
MIAMI — New Orleans knocked off Indianapolis Sunday night here at Sun Life Stadium 31-17 in Super Bowl LXIV.
The Saints trailed 10-0 early, and became just the second team in Super Bowl history to overcome a 10 point deficit and win the big game.
The perfect ending to what many felt was a season of destiny.
The Saints were tied with the Vikings 28-28 late in the NFC Championship against Minnesota, and watched as Brett Favre moved the Vikings down the field late in the game and positioned them to win the game in the final seconds of regulation.
Instead, Favre made a bone-headed move and threw an interception, and the Saints won in overtime.
And then Sunday, well..this.
Sunday's win was by far the biggest in team history, and set off a celebratory explosion in South Florida that was felt all over the south including pearl River County and the French Quarter.
Sunday's win was made possible by the likes of Drew Brees and Pierre Thomas, Jonathan Vilma and Tracey Porter.
But this win was for the Saints of old as well as Saints of the present.
This one was for Derland Moore, Tommy Myers, Elo Grooms and Billy Kilmer. For Chuck Commiskey, Stan Brock, Chuck Muncie and Wes Chandler.
For Jim Finks, for John Mecom, for Buddy Diliberto and for John Gilliam.
And for Rickey Jackson, who was the first Saints player ever elected to the pro football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
And maybe that was an omen. After all, Jackson is from Pahokee, Fla, just 30 minutes from the stadium where the franchise played in and won its first Super Bowl.
And this one, of course, was for the enire city of New Orleans, and for South Mississippi and all of those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Nothing can replace everything that was lost in the largest natural disaster in the history of the United States. But now, nothing can replace this win either, and the celebration will last for several days.
The Saints have sliced their name off the list of franchises that have never won a Super Bowl, finally. And Mardi Gras will last a little while longer.
And in this historic year, they did it against several hall of fame quarterbacks. They beat the likes of Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Favre and then on Sunday night, Peyton Manning.
The on-side kick by Saints coach Sean Payton to open the second half with his team trailing 10-6 was the turning point of the game.
And then the missed field goal by the Colts Matt Stover in the fourth period was again a key point. In every football game, especially close ones, there is a play or two that swings the game in favor of one team or the other.
Those two plays did it for the Saints.
And for the first time ever, they are the Super Bowl champions.
Curtis Rockwell is the Sports Editor of the Picayune Item and saw it but is still not sure he believes it...
