Super Bowl XLIV Is a Thing of the Past

I’m certainly not making excuses for the Indianapolis Colts‘ Super Bowl XLIV loss, but I do know that any coach will tell you it’s hard to win on someone else’s field. They say the Super Bowl is supposed to take place on a neutral field, but I believe Miami is a little closer to New Orleans than to Indianapolis. And let’s face it, the South just has a way different feel from the Midwest.

But that’s not even what I’m talking about, really.

Whether the win was caused by the lifting of a Voodoo curse put on the Saints because their home stadium was built over an old cemetery, the blessing of Obama, the Freeney injury, the planetary alignment on Super Bowl XLIV Sunday, a fateful mistake committed by Peyton Manning, or the red beans and jambalya, the fact is that the Saints simply had too many fans to beat. Even the President of the United States said before the Super Bowl he thought the Colts had the better team but he really hoped the Saints would win, because they needed it.

So the field, though it wasn’t geographically inside the hurricane-torn city of New Orleans, really did belong to the Saints, in a significant psychological way. If you’ve ever been on an athletic field with an overwhelming crowd against you, then you know it takes a toll, one that usually shows up in the last quarter.

And you know, everybody I talked to felt pretty much the same: The Colts have a better team, but New Orleans needs to recover from Katrina.

It’s hard to admit this but when the Saints’ coach dedicated the Super Bowl XLIV trophy to the people of New Orleans it did get to me. Those open-minded football fans who are saying, “the Colts wanted it more, the Saints needed it more” are quoting the bottom line.

(By the way, word on the street is that Michael Brown, chief of FEMA, backed the Indianapolis Colts to win.)

I’d like to send out a big Thank You to the Colts, who will forever remain the mainstays of Indianapolis sports and superstars in Indiana, for a fantastic and memorable year.