Super Sunday

After the Saints' meteoric ascendancy to Super Bowl glory last night, downing the mighty Indianapolis Colts 31-17, the city of New Orleans and "Who Dat" nation are celebrating. They're not the only winners out there. Here are a few other winners from Super Sunday:

- The NFL: Almost everybody I know found a TV to plop in front of and watch the game last night, and they weren't alone. Early indications from Nielsen show that the Super Bowl had its highest ratings in 23 years and may have garnered 100 million viewers for the first time ever. In a league that may have just one season left before a work stoppage, roughly one in three Americans watching a single NFL game can only be considered a win.

- Good Old-Fashioned Balls: New Orleans head coach Sean Payton came out of halftime with his team down 10-6, and having to hand the ball back to Indy's Peyton Manning. The way the game was going, Manning would have likely driven the ball right back down the field, putting his team up 17-6 and making it nearly impossible to come back by the end of the game. Instead, Payton decided to go for an onside kick, the only time a Super Bowl coach has gone for the high-risk move when he wasn't desperate late in the fourth quarter. It was an incredibly gutsy move, and paid off in multiple ways besides the obvious. Before the ball was even kicked, the decision showed Payton had confidence in his kicking team to execute a highly-difficult play. If the Saints hadn't recovered the ball, Payton showed his defense that he had the confidence in them to stop perhaps the best quarterback in the game on a short field in the Super Bowl. Either way you cut it, Payton proved he has brass balls and showed that sometimes fate smiles on those who choose to be bold.

- Stupid Hair Cuts: Saints cornerback Tracy Porter was one of the clear heroes of the game, picking Peyton Manning off late in the fourth quarter and returning the ball 74 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. Afterward, along with the accolades he received for his clutch interception, people were praising his unique hair cut. Porter had his barber shave an image of the New Orleans Superdome on the back of his head, along with the Vince Lombardi Trophy and "SB 44." I'm not that old, and I don't consider myself totally unstylish, but to me, the hair cut looked pretty dumb. It looks even dumber when you consider he got the hair cut prior to the game. Something tells me a lot more people would be on my side with this if the Saints hadn't pulled out the win.

Final Super Bowl score by quarter:

 

Saints : 0

, 6, 10, 15

 

 

Colts: 10, 0, 7, 0

 

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