Saints, Colts gear up for Big One
By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer
A 40-yard field goal in overtime by a
little-known kicker could become as
famous as jambalaya in these parts.
The New Orleans Saints, a team with no
home and an uncertain future five years
ago, are heading for their first Super Bowl.
By battering Brett Favre and beating the
Minnesota Vikings 31-28 Sunday, they
set off celebrations on Bourbon Street
that locals never could have imagined in
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"This is for everybody in this city," said
coach Sean Payton, the architect of the
Saints' turnaround. "This stadium used
to have holes in it and used to be wet. It's
not wet anymore. This is for the city of
New Orleans."
And it came courtesy of Garrett Hartley
and the Aints who surely ain't the
Aints anymore.
"In reality, we had to lean on each other
in order to survive and in order to get
where we are now," quarterback Drew
Brees said. "The city is on its way to
recovery, and in a lot of ways has come
back better than ever. We've used the
strength and resiliency of our fans to go
out and play every Sunday and play with
the confidence that we can do it, that we
can achieve everything we've set out to
achieve."
Favre threw away
Minnesota's best
chance to win, tossing
an interception deep in
New Orleans territory
in the closing seconds
of regulation. Then the
Saints won the coin toss
and ended it on Hartley's
kick 4:45 into OT.
"Just helping my team
get to Miami," he said.
"Just doing my part."
A team of nomads after
Katrina ravaged its city
and the Superdome,
overcame a slew of
mistakes in the biggest
game the Big Easy has
ever seen.
Forget the paper bag
masks and that long
history of losing that
started in 1967. Moments
after Hartley's kick,
they were toasting their
hometown winners in
the French Quarter and
making plans for South
Florida.
The Saints (15-3) will
meet Peyton Manning
and the Indianapolis Colts
(16-2) in the Super Bowl in
two weeks in Miami. The Colts
opened as 4-point favorites.
"Brett prepared us, but now
we've got another challenge
in Peyton," safety Darren
Sharper said.
And in the Superdome, once
a squalid refuge after Katrina,
they boogied in the aisles as
confetti covered the field.
"It's a moment I've been
waiting for for a long time and
obviously we're not done yet,"
said Brees, Payton's hand
picked QB for the Saints'
renaissance.
It's the first time the top
seeds in each conference made
the big game since the 1993
season
There were nine fumbles
and two interceptions, and
the biggest mistake belonged
to Favre. Flushed from the
pocket in the final minute, he
seemed to have room to run
to set up a field goal. But
hampered by a left leg injured
in the third quarter, he threw
cross-field and was intercepted
by Tracy Porter at the 22.
That finished off Minnesota's chance
for its first Super Bowl trip in 33 years
and opportunity to win it for the first
time after four defeats. The Vikings have
lost five straight NFC title games.
"I've felt better," said Favre, who looked
every bit his 40 years. "It was a physical
game. A lot of hits. You win that and you
sure feel a lot better."
New Orleans won the coin toss, Brees
guided it to the Minnesota 22 after
converting a fourth-and
-1 on Pierre Thomas'
leap over the line, and
Hartley suspended at
the start of the season for
using a banned stimulant
split the uprights.
"It was as loud as I
have ever heard it in the
dome," Brees added. "It
feels so good to know
we have given our fans
an NFC championship.
We have another
championship to go after
in two weeks."
It was anything but easy
for the Saints, in only
their second conference
championship game;
they lost at Chicago
three years ago.
They had to withstand
yet one more comeback
by Favre, who returned to
the NFL with the Vikings
(13-5) after another
brief retirement. He was
alternately spectacular
and pedestrian Sunday,
finally betrayed by his
gambling style and,
perhaps, an aging body.
Porter's pick sent it into
overtime, the third time an
NFC title game has needed
extra time and the second
in three seasons. Two years
ago, Favre's interception
in OT set up a field goal
that sent the Giants past
the Packers and into the
Super Bowl.
The Saints can only hope
they have the same happy
ending as New York did
back then.
"Yeah," said Reggie Bush,
who scored a touchdown.
"One more step."
The seesaw game saw
All-Pro Adrian Peterson
score three touchdowns
for Minnesota and Saints
running back Pierre
Thomas get two. The
Vikings handily won the
possession and yardage
battles Peterson rushed
for 122. yards and Minnesota
gained 475 overall. But the
Vikings were undone by
five turnovers, including
three fumbles
"We really gave those guys the game,"
said Peterson, who peeked at the rousing
celebrations on the Superdome floor.
"Too many turnovers. It's eating me up
inside."
The seemingly indestructible Favre
was hurt on one of those turnovers, on
a combination hit by Bobby McCray
and Remi Ayodele while throwing his
first interception. And, despite being the
closest Viking to the ball, he was helpless
in the scramble to recover Percy Harvin's
fumble that seemingly turned the game
in New Orleans' favor early in the fourth
period.
The Saints took over at the 7 and, on
third down, Bush caught Brees' rollout
pass by the right pylon. He was ruled out
at the 1, but Payton sprinted almost to the
goal line to throw the red flag.
The challenge was upheld, and the
dome rocked like never before until
Hartley's winning field goal.
But Favre has been in enough hostile
environs to be able to shrug at such
challenges. He hit tight end Visanthe
Shiancoe for 16 yards, Peterson ripped
off a 20-yard run, and a pass interference
against Porter set up Peterson's tying 2-
yard rush with 4:58 to go.
"I would have loved to represent the
NFC," said Favre, who grew up in
Mississippi a Saints fan. "But, as I told
Sean throughout the year when we talked,
if it's not us, I hope it's you guys."
The crowd of 71,276 was the largest in
the Superdome for a Saints game.