The perfect remedy for the broken city of New Orleans came five years after Hurricane Katrina as Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees brought home a Super Bowl win.
The state of Louisiana has been the target of American pity since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the Saints’ win over the Colts in Sunday’s Super Bowl was the coming out party for the entire state. While the sports world is so often marred by crime, steroids and overpaid athletes, the win serves as a feel good story for sports enthusiasts everywhere.
New Orleans had never won a Super Bowl, and the state of Louisiana had never been in such a state of ramshackle, but sports have the power to change big things in big ways. Brees led his team admirably through unknown territory as they claimed their first Lombardi Trophy.
Before the game, I told a friend the most used word during the telecast would be “Manning”. However, while most critics have spent the last eight months bowing down to Peyton Manning as if he were the Greek god of football, Brees outplayed his majesty, Manning. Brees displayed a stellar display of passing, going 32/39 and walked out of the stadium with a Super Bowl MVP trophy under his arm.
If you were to ask me before the game who I would choose to make a big mistake at a crucial point in the game, I would have said Brees in a heartbeat. However, it was Manning who made the big boo-boo, throwing a pick-six late in the fourth quarter to seal the deal for New Orleans. The overshadowed Brees remained steadfast and headstrong at the big moments and seemed to do everything right.
Brees was brought to New Orleans on terms of “giving him a chance”. He had suffered a serious shoulder injury; which threatened his ability to play the game. The Saints decided to take the risk on Brees in 2006. I wonder if they new they were getting a future Super Bowl MVP.
The individual match-ups on both sides of the ball hold intrigue, but at the end of the day this was not a win for the Saints, it was a win for the state of Louisiana. Who knows how long the state will be rebuilding after Katrina, but one thing’s for sure, they have been united, empowered and announced through the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV victory.
Contact Colin Zalewski at colin.zalewski@whitworthian.com.
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