Everyone’s been asking me the last few weeks who I wanted to win the Super Bowl, and the answer was easy: the New Orleans Saints. Why? Because I hate Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, I’d say, even though everyone says he’s the greatest player in the universe.
As I was explaining this over and over, I realized how weird it is to say I am rooting against a team because I hate someone. Thing is, I don’t have any reason to hate Manning. He’s a good guy or whatever. Or maybe he’s not, but he doesn’t seem to be that bad of a guy, either. And he’s very good at football. But he’s wildly overrated in any discussion of his talents as a quarterback. It’s just off the charts how much more highly people think of him than his actual ability merits. Just look at his record in big games, or the way he started going off-target in the fourth quarter tonight.
Enough about Peyton Manning, though. Tonight’s all about the Saints and Drew Brees, who cemented what should have been an MVP year with a masterful performance. (Just for the record, his completion percentage, yards-per-attempt, touchdowns, and interceptions were all better than Manning’s, and his team scored almost one hundred points more in the regular season. In fact, his team led the NFL in scoring, where Manning’s would’ve been third in the NFC North alone. But it’s Manning who gets the MVP? Too bad Brees’ dad didn’t suck in the NFL; both MVP trophies could’ve been his.)
The entire Saints team was impressive. I loved coach Sean Payton going for the touchdown in the second quarter, then following up with the surprise onside kick to start the third. I really loved Tracy Porter’s interception return. The wide angle replay, where you could see almost the whole field, was particularly telling: many of the Colts were jogging back, with minimal effort, while at least one other Saint was sprinting like a bat out of Lincoln to meet Porter in the end zone. I know it’s demoralizing, but this is the Super Bowl; you shouldn’t need any more motivation to run, to scrap, or to fight. Plays like that will forever remind me of Rod Smith chasing down Julius Peppers from across the field, saying if it had been his last play, he would’ve wanted to give it his best. And New Orleans did. The Saints came to win; the Colts came to claim a trophy, and not to lose. I was so glad to see it work out for the aggressors.
Comments
The onside kick was totally unpredictable, but unlike what all the analysts are saying, the real momentum-changing play was when the Saints stopped the Colts on that third and one right before the half and then they got the short field and the field goal.
And I completely agree about Peyton Manning: he is overhyped because his dad played (and sucked) in the league, and the front office is desperate to have a face of the sport. He gets a free pass for his big game failures. I hope he enjoys his Most Valuable Peyton awards, because the regular season is all he has to show for his career.