~STORY OF THE WEEK~
A MIRACLE IN MIAMI
A MIRACLE IN MIAMIUNDERDOG NEW ORLEANS SAINTS CHAMPIONS OF FOOTBALL
The New Orleans Saints almost left when their city flooded and their stadium had been turned into a shelter, a disaster seeming to provide the perfect escape route for a team in search of a better stadium and a bigger market. Displaced and disheartened, the Saints haltingly returned to a repaired Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. And a team so awful that its fans used to wear bags on their heads came to symbolize and be embraced by a battered but rebuilding community. On Sunday, with a quarterback who had hitched his career to resurrecting the Saints and with a team that played nearly flawlessly, the Saints gave New Orleans a reason to do what it does better than any other American city:
celebrate. In the franchise’s first Super Bowl, the Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, sending New Orleanians into the streets for a party. “Who Dat?” Saints fans ask about which opponent might beat their team. Now they have their answer: nobody. The Saints are the N.F.L.’s champions, after 42 seasons of futility. Confetti fell on the Saints here, but back in New Orleans, where Mardi Gras begins in less than two weeks, Bourbon Street erupted in joy, four and a half years after the city was nearly engulfed by despair when the levees broke. “Louisiana, by way of New Orleans, is back,” said the Saints’ owner, Tom Benson, clutching the Lombardi Trophy. “And it shows the whole world.” The play that sealed the victory, a comeback from a 10-0 deficit, came with a little more than three minutes to play at the expense of a New Orleans native. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, a son of the beloved former Saints quarterback Archie Manning, was intercepted by Saints cornerback Tracy Porter — a Louisiana native, too — when the Saints blitzed. Porter jumped in front of the intended receiver and returned the interception 74 yards for a touchdown that gave the Saints their winning margin. “Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening?” quarterback Drew Brees said. “Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. All of the residents evacuated across the county. Most people not knowing if New Orleans could ever come back or if the organization or team would ever come back.” (NY Times)
The New Orleans Saints almost left when their city flooded and their stadium had been turned into a shelter, a disaster seeming to provide the perfect escape route for a team in search of a better stadium and a bigger market. Displaced and disheartened, the Saints haltingly returned to a repaired Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. And a team so awful that its fans used to wear bags on their heads came to symbolize and be embraced by a battered but rebuilding community. On Sunday, with a quarterback who had hitched his career to resurrecting the Saints and with a team that played nearly flawlessly, the Saints gave New Orleans a reason to do what it does better than any other American city:
celebrate. In the franchise’s first Super Bowl, the Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, sending New Orleanians into the streets for a party. “Who Dat?” Saints fans ask about which opponent might beat their team. Now they have their answer: nobody. The Saints are the N.F.L.’s champions, after 42 seasons of futility. Confetti fell on the Saints here, but back in New Orleans, where Mardi Gras begins in less than two weeks, Bourbon Street erupted in joy, four and a half years after the city was nearly engulfed by despair when the levees broke. “Louisiana, by way of New Orleans, is back,” said the Saints’ owner, Tom Benson, clutching the Lombardi Trophy. “And it shows the whole world.” The play that sealed the victory, a comeback from a 10-0 deficit, came with a little more than three minutes to play at the expense of a New Orleans native. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, a son of the beloved former Saints quarterback Archie Manning, was intercepted by Saints cornerback Tracy Porter — a Louisiana native, too — when the Saints blitzed. Porter jumped in front of the intended receiver and returned the interception 74 yards for a touchdown that gave the Saints their winning margin. “Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening?” quarterback Drew Brees said. “Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. All of the residents evacuated across the county. Most people not knowing if New Orleans could ever come back or if the organization or team would ever come back.” (NY Times)
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