Surprisingly, I wasn’t really excited about the Super Bowl this year.  I thought it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that the Colts were going to win.  I was actually more excited for the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet than the Super Bowl itself.

As the game went on, I found myself loving this game more and more.  It was a great game start to finish and Drew Brees was as brilliant as his coach was gutsy.  As the minutes ticked away, the game and the day got better and better.  The greatness of the day culminated when Tracy Porter intercepted Peyton Manning and “went marching in” to the end zone.  At that moment, Porter virtually handed his teammates the Vince Lombardi trophy which (in my opinion) is the hardest trophy to win in professional sports.

When the Saints smoked the Patriots back on November 30th, I really wasn’t that upset.  It was the day I realized that the Patriots just didn’t have it this year.  Looking at those faces in that Superdome crowd, I was actually happy for those fans.  On that day I also realized that there really isn’t anyone in or anything about the Saints organization that I dislike.  This is such a rarity in this day and age of free agency.  For the first time in as long as I can remember, there is a (”four major”) sports champion that is not one of my teams and is completely likable.

Since February 3rd, 2002 I have always felt a special connection to the city of New Orleans.  It is not only one of America’s greatest cities, but it was the site of best weekend of my life.  February 7th, 2010 was a heck of a day for the Saints fans and for the entire city of New Orleans.  4.5 years ago the city was underwater and the home of the World Champion New Orleans Saints (how cool does that sound?) was being used as an emergency shelter.

Today, they sit atop the football universe and the Lombardi is coming to their town.  Only on a stage as big as the Super Bowl could something as special as this happen.  I couldn’t be happier for the people of New Orleans, the Saints organization, and all of their fans.

I’m never taking Super Bowl Sunday for granted again.  It is always one of the best days of the year and this was one of my favorite Super Bowls ever.