Saints 31 Vikings 28 in Overtime for the Saints first ever NFC Championship!
It’s 4:30 in the morning and I have a 7:30 flight to catch. No sense in going to sleep now.
For a week I’ve been waiting for the celebration. Not the game. The celebration. I was that confident. I shouldn’t have been. The Dome was an insane asylum and it had to be. The Saints needed every scream to pull this one out.
Out gained and out possessed by a wide margin, the Saints forced a bushel full of turnovers and proved they were a team of destiny.
Accolades:
First and foremost to Pierre Thomas. I thought going in he was the key – that the Saints had to move the ball on the ground. All he did was score a touchdown on a screen pass, one on a run, and most importantly had a huge kick return to start the overtime.
The Kickers. Not only did Hartley cement his name in Saints lore forever when he nailed the game winner, but Thomas Moorstead boomed punt after punt to pin the Vikings deep.
The defense. Relentlessly pounding Brett Favre and the running backs, even as they made play after play, finally took its toll. Five Turnovers - Wow!
Darren Sharper, who seemed to make every tackle.
Tracy Porter, who came back from an interference call to pick off Favre and send the game into OT.
The crowd. The din had to contribute to the 5 turnovers.
Drew Brees. Although just a little off all night, his leadership was critical. It didn’t seem that he could step up into the pocket and fire, but he completed enough big passes to pull it out.
Sean Payton. With a rather conservative game plan, he kept the Saints in the game when things could have gone south the way the Vikings moved the ball.
It was during the offseason when Payton and GM Mickey Loomis aggressively addressed every hole, including defensive coordinator, that I became convinced the Saints could have a great year. If this keeps up, the Saints can be good for a long time.
For 43 years we’ve watched the Saints take leads late into games they deserved to win only to lose. This time, it was our turn to win when outplayed. It’s Destiny. When I went into the dome I really thought the Saints were going to win big. I didn’t count on Favre and the Vikings playing so well.
And after the game?
Coming out of the Arizona game last week, the crowd was almost subdued, exhausted.
This time the exuberance spilled out into the streets. As we walked to the French Quarter after the game it was a thrill to see the people dancing in the streets. When we got to Bourbon and Canal, we could not get into the French Quarter because the crowd was so thick. There were about 1000 dancing maniacs guarding the entrance. We then walked down a block and took a detour to Bourbon, which was wall to wall jubilation. We walked into a Daiquiri/Pizza shop and people were dancing like crazy, waiting for their Daiquiri’s. As we left the quarter walking back to our parking spot, it was incredible to see the vehicles pouring into the downtown, honking and screaming. I have no idea where all those cars were going, but they just didn’t care. When you’ve waited so long, you don’t want the night to end.
There won’t be a whole lot of work getting done in New Orleans tomorrow.
What will happen if the Saints win the Super Bowl? Don’t know, but I’d sure like to find out. The two teams that were the best throughout the year now get to meet.
It’s fitting.
It’s cool.
It’s destiny.
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