There is always one play that is talked about the next day, the
next week or even up until the next Super Bowl.
One play can define the victory for the winning team, or provide
a direct blow to the gut of the loser.
There is always one play that is talked about the next day, the next week or even up until the next Super Bowl.
One play can define the victory for the winning team, or provide a direct blow to the gut of the loser.
Over the cries of my 2-month-old cousin and as I tried peeking around my 4-year-old cousin James trying to tackle me, the questions, with shock and befuddlement, began to echo throughout the living room as a scrum unfolded around the 40-yard line after the New Orleans Saints caught everyone off guard by executing an onside kick to open up the second half of Super Bowl XLIV.
“An onside kick …?”
“Did they just pull off an onside kick?”
“Are you serious?”
“Payton, that gusty son of a gun.”
Saints’ head coach Sean Payton said in a postgame news conference that he told his players they were going to open up the second half with the onside kick. He wasn’t fooling.
Sunday’s contest was the most-watched TV event, eclipsing the final episode of “M*A*S*H” – a record that had stood since 1983.
An estimated 106.5 million people in the U.S. witnessed the mind-boggling sequence that changed the complexion of the game.
The call epitomized how the hard-nosed, no-nonsense Saints played all season and their willingness to try and win the game rather than trying not to lose it. Even before that play, the Saints opted against a sure three points and instead went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, ultimately getting stuffed. But it didn’t matter. They were leaving nothing to chance.
It was reported during the game that “the kick” was the first onside kick attempted in the Super Bowl before the fourth quarter. There are reasons for that, mainly percentages. The success rate just isn’t favorable to the kicking team.
The Saints trailed at that point 10-6 but went on to score a touchdown on the ensuing drive, fully digging themselves out of an early 10-0 hole.
Though Super Bowl XLIV wasn’t the barnburner, full of offensive fireworks and 80-yard touchdown bombs as it was hyped to possibly be in the weeks heading up to the annual spectacle, it still gave plenty of people something to talk about after the final gun sounded as the Saints upset the favored Colts 31-17 on Sunday night.
The onside kick wasn’t the only factor in the Saints’ emotional victory. New Orleans’ 25th-ranked defense once again limited the productivity of a high-caliber quarterback just enough to turn the game in their favor. The Saints ‘D’ eliminated three future Hall of Famers en route to their championship – Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.
The Saints, a team that contributed to the rejuvenation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, also carried with them the strength of an entire city pulling for them. Destiny, perhaps, but more than that, the Saints were the better team.
Quarterback Drew Brees picked apart the Colts defense, which looked tired and confused by the fourth quarter. Brees, the game’s MVP tossed for 288 yards on 32 of 39 passing, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The big plays were few and far between, but I never lost interest – despite leaning slightly on the side of Manning and the Colts.
Even as an adult, I still do not sit on the couch to watch a Super Bowl; it’s just too confining. I’m so pumped up for the game I need as much room as I can to kneel, squat, jump up, sit down, fist pump and yell as the action unfolds in front of my eyes. Sunday was no different.
Each passing Super Bowl conjures up memories of taking my place four feet from the TV, sprawled out on my belly and watching Joe Montana and the 49ers make opponents wish they had never made it to the big game. I still talk about those games.
So as the city of New Orleans, Saints fans around the country and the players themselves soak up the moment, let the talk about Super Bowl XLIV continue, because there is always something to discuss about one of the best sporting events in the world.
