Saints march in

MIAMI -- ******

CORRECTION

A story Monday in Sports incorrectly characterized a 74-yard interception return for a touchdown by the New Orleans Saints as the longest in Super Bowl history. The Pittsburgh Steelers had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown last year. The Saints' play was the fourth-longest interception return for a score in a Super Bowl.

****** New Orleans, the city that four years ago was in post-Katrina shambles, now is home to the Super Bowl champions.

Line up all the most prolific storybook sports events and there might not be a match to this one.

Game MVP Drew Brees, who has championed the cause of the poor and the hurting during his four years in New Orleans, turned in a masterful performance, outdueling Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday in a showdown of two of the league's premier quarter backs.

Manning got off to the hot start early, but Brees' final three quarters were near perfect, and the one big mistake either of them made turned out to be the difference in the Saints' 31-17 victory.

With barely over three minutes remaining, New Orleans led 24-17, but the Colts were rallying and faced third-and-5 at the Saints 31, eyeing a possible tying touchdown.

After a timeout, Manning threw a pass toward receiver Reggie Wayne, but it was off target and Saints cornerback Tracy Porter intercepted it and ran furiously in the direction of the other end zone.

Pointing in front of him as he ran, Porter went untouched 74 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl history and put the Saints ahead by 14 points with 3:12 left.

Porter said he knew what to expect on the play from his film study of the Colts.

"We knew on that third-and-short they stack, and they like the outside release for the slant," Porter said. "It was great film study by me, a great jump and a great play."

Said Manning: "Porter made a great play on the ball. He just made a heck of a play."

Though the Colts tried to rally, they were unable to score after that, and the Saints went on to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the league champions.

Saints coach Sean Payton thrust the trophy in the air repeatedly and then handed it off to Brees.

"We just believe in ourselves, and we knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us," Brees said. "I've tried to imagine what this moment would be like for a long time, and it's even better than I expected. God is great.

"Mardi Gras may never end. The celebration is never going to end."

New Orleans has waited a long time for this. The 43-year-old franchise was born the year after Super Bowl I, and this was the first time it played in the title game.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the favored Colts looked stunned on their sideline as Saints fans, clad in gold and black, cheered gleefully.

The scene back in New Orleans in the French Quarter was one of intense celebration.

Brees finished 32-of-39 passing for 288 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 114.5 passer rating. He tied the Super Bowl record for most pass completions, matching the total New England's Tom Brady had against Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

"What can I say?" Brees asked. "We played for so much more than ourselves. We played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for the 'Who Dat?' nation that has supported us so well."

Brees' voice cracked as he thought about the state of the Saints and the New Orleans area when he arrived as an unrestricted free agent four years ago.

"Eighty-five percent of the city was under water," Brees said. "Most of its residents were evacuated all over the country. People wondered if the city would come back or the organization would come back.

"We all looked at one another and said, 'We're going to rebuild together; we're going to lean on each other.' This is the culmination of all that belief and that faith."

Brees was only 3-of-7 passing in the first period but was 29-of-32 after that - and two of the incompletions were an intentional spike and a drop by a receiver.

Brees' best moments came on the drive that gave the Saints the lead for keeps.

Following a missed field goal by the Colts, New Orleans took over at its 41 with 10:39 remaining and the Colts leading 17-16.

Brees completed all seven of his pass attempts on the drive, to seven different receivers, for 44 yards. The touchdown was a 2-yarder to tight end Jeremy Shockey.

He also completed a two-point conversion pass that doesn't count on the official passing statistics, but throw that in and he was 8-for-8 on the drive.

The favored Colts were bitterly disappointed not to win a second Super Bowl in a four-year span.

"We were just missing a little," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. "We just weren't quite as sharp" as usual.

"We'll just use this disappointment as fuel for next year."

Manning, a native of New Orleans, apologized to Colts fans even as he realized people in his home area were celebrating.

The game started so well for Indianapolis, which jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter as Manning picked apart the Saints defense and mixed in the run more than usual.

Running back Joseph Addai had 58 yards on five carries in the opening period, a surprising start for an offense that ranked last in the league in rushing in the regular season.

Indianapolis' first points came on a 38-yard field goal by Matt Stover after Manning barely missed completing a third-down pass that could have led to a touchdown.

The Colts next took over at their 4-yard line and drove 96 yards in 11 plays to match the longest touchdown drive in Super Bowl history.

The score came on a 19-yard pass over the middle of the Saints defense to Pierre Garcon.

Manning noticed that Saints starting cornerback Jabari Greer had left the game with a leg injury three plays earlier after helping tackling Addai at the end of a 26-yard run.

On the TD, Manning went right at replacement cornerback Usama Young and safety Roman Harper, who was helping cover Garcon.

The Saints mixed up their defense more in the second quarter and shut down Manning and his offense, holding them to six plays in the period.

New Orleans outgained Indianapolis 143-15 in total yards in the quarter but managed only two field goals to cut the Colts' lead to 10-6 at halftime.

Down 10-0, the Saints were driving for a possible touchdown when Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney sacked Brees for a 7-yard loss, forcing a 46-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley.

Later in the second quarter, the Saints drove to the Indianapolis 1 but stalled there and faced a big decision on fourth-and-goal.

Coach Sean Payton opted to forgo a field goal and try for a tying touchdown.

He called for a running play to the right, but Pierre Thomas was met by Colts linebacker Gary Brackett and about three other defenders and was unable to score.

The Colts offense wasn't able to pick up a first down and punted the ball back to the Saints, who managed to get a 44-yard field goal by Hartley as the half ended to cut the deficit to 10-6.

After a lengthy halftime show, the Saints pulled a big surprise by trying an onside kick on the second-half kickoff. The ball touched the Colts' Hank Baskett and was recovered by New Orleans at its 42.

That set the tone for the rest of the game.

Brees and the offense took full advantage, quickly driving for their first touchdown of the game. The score came on a 15-yard screen pass from Brees to Thomas, who made two nifty cutbacks to his left to elude Colts defenders and dive into the end zone.

But the Colts wasted no time in reviving their offense. After failing to pick up a first down in the second period, they drove 76 yards for a touchdown behind the running of Addai and Manning's passing to tight end Dallas Clark.

Manning was rolling to his right when he lofted a near-perfect pass over Saints defenders to Clark for a 26-yard gain. A later 11-yard pass to Clark moved the ball to the New Orleans 4.

Addai ran in for the score from there, using a nifty spin move to elude middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma and run standing up into the end zone to give the Colts a 17-13 lead.

Hartley's 47-yard field goal with 2:01 left in the third quarter trimmed the Indianapolis lead to 17-16.

The Colts drove as far as the Saints 30 early in the fourth quarterback before their drive stalled when Manning's deep pass to Austin Collie fell incomplete, thanks to excellent deep coverage by Vilma.

Stover tried a 51-yard field goal, but it was wide left, giving the ball back to the Saints at their 41.

From there, Brees took over and led the Saints to their promised land.

It was a night the Saints, their fans and the city of New Orleans will never forget.