MIAMI – There have been better Super Bowls played in the annals of the game, but not many.

 

Call New Orleans’ 31-17 win over Indianapolis Sunday night an upset if you’d like, but the Saints’ proved pretty conclusively that they were not only Indy's equals, but their superiors.

 

Here are our Cold, Hard Football Facts very official "State of the Super Bowl" statements, coming to you live from Section 249, Row 1, Seat 12 of the auxiliary press box here in chilly South Florida. Please ignore the goosebumps on our hairy forearms.

 

Drew Brees can enter the discussion of the great QBs in history. He's got a long way to go to reach God-like territory, and he may never get there, but Brees has been spectacular for a half-decade, and had an impeccable performance Sunday night. His effort was highlighted by a near flawless 32 of 39 completions for 288 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT and a 114.5 passer rating (all after starting the day 3 of 7 in the first quarter). With his team down early and looking like they might just check out, he brought everyone together and just kept making the right throws. Not only did he have zero turnovers, he didn’t even really come close to one either.

 

Peyton Manning, you’re not the greatest of all time yet. Manning needed an all-time effort to really approach Joe Montana in the pantheon of greats, and he didn’t come up with one. While he was certainly solid, in the game’s biggest moment he threw the costliest of interceptions. He’s got plenty of years left to improve his credentials, but he might have to settle for greatest regular-season QB of all time. A 9-9 record in the postseason is, as one rival coach might say, what it is.

 

The MVP was Saints CB Tracy Porter. Even before his dagger interception return, Porter was absolutely dominant. The unheralded second-year corner absolutely took Reggie Wayne out of the game without a lick of help, taking a page from the Darrelle Revis handbook. (The stains on it are not ours ... promise.) The Saints’ corners were excellent all day, holding the Colts with few big pass plays. Wayne, meanwhile, was targeted 11 times on the evening and caught just 5 passes for 46 yards.

 

Jim Caldwell, you’re no Bill Belichick. In the fourth quarter, facing a 51-yard field goal attempt on 4th-and-11 with a thin-legged, 42-year-old kicker, The Hoodie would have gone for it and faced the critics with stoic surliness afterwards.

 

But Colts coach Jim Caldwell went with the incorrect but more defensible call – a chance to go up four points is worthy in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, but not if either one of your kickers can’t make it. Stover's boot was wide and didn’t appear to have the distance. Manning had a better chance of getting 11 yards with his arm than Stover did of getting 51 with his leg.

 

Saints coach Sean Payton played it just right at the end of the first half … except for the play calls. OK. Third-and-one. Great passing attack. MVP caliber QB. Lots of weapons. Thin Indy secondary. And he calls a run… and then another run? Maybe the ugliest sequence of the Saints’ season. It was great strategy by Payton, leaving the Colts pinned at their own 1 if the offense fails and with three time outs, but the play calls were definitely shaky.

 

And then Payton redeemed himself at the start of the second half. Bill Cowher tried an onside kick in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXX, which almost bailed out the Steelers from certain (and ultimate) defeat. Payton obviously liked Cowher’s spunk, and punter/kickoff man Thomas Morstead  executed it nicely (with an assist from Hank “Butterfingers” Baskett of the Colts). Chris Reis recovered for the Saints, and their ensuing touchdown drive gave the game a whole new feel. Payton had an incredible coaching season from start to finish and is now known as the man who made the sad-sack Saints world champs.

 

The end-of-regular-season surrender wasn’t a factor in Indy's loss. Not only did the Colts have no rust in the playoffs, they played their three of their best games of the year there. Even in defeat against the Saints, the Colts played sharply and with focus, but simply ran into a better team that made more big plays. Chief Bill Polian deserves nothing but credit for keeping this team in the Super Bowl mix every year, and his decision to pull the plug early just had nothing to do with what happened Sunday. However, one Super Bowl after a 10-year regular-season run of dominance has got to hurt.

 

The Super Bowl is one big old monster of an event. Theoretically, this game shouldn’t present much more of a security risk than an average game. The attendance is no greater than a regular-season sellout, and it’s just a football game with people coming to watch football. Despite this, there were about 7,000,000 security staff on hand, and what appeared to be the entire police force of Miami and Dade County. In fact, the Chief Troll was frisked by security three times before entry ... but that's only because he liked it so much he kept going to the back of the line.

 

Incredible energy … and that was all four hours before the game started. Must be the money. If the average Super Bowl ticket sold for $2,500, that’s approximately 19 million bucks worth of enjoyment waiting to be filled. Was it a $19 million show? Signs point to yes.

 

Saints fans rule. Even if the Saints had lost, there was a scheduled parade on Tuesday in the streets of N’Awlins. Sure, any excuse for party is a good one down there, but it reflects more the exceptional love that Saints fans have for their team. Chants of “Who Dat! Who Dat! Who dat sey dey gonna beat dem Saints" were everywhere pregame, and the Saints had an unofficial 67.45 to 32.55 noise edge throughout according to the Loudometer 3000 (not a real thing). They just have a special something – maybe it’s a slightly damaged communal chromosome, but in a good way. Don’t think Indy will be lining the streets for a “good for you guys” runner-up bash.

 

Miami restored its reputation as the home for great Super Bowls. Four of the greatest SBs of all time were played in sunny South Florida, starting with the great Jets upset in Super Bowl III. Add Pittsburgh's two classic wins over the Cowboys in the 1970s and San Francisco's thrilling 20-16 win over Cincy in 1988 (the “That’s John Candy Bowl”) and Miami had a reputation for being a great game magnet. Then, oops. Steve Young and the Niners made short work of the Chargers in 1995, and it was another blowout in 1999 when Denver dusted Atlanta. Indy's win over the Bears in 2007 won’t make the millienial time-capsule either. But this one was a classic.

 

The Who? While The Who wasn’t a major part of the draw for most in attendance, they put on a pretty decent show. Most of us will be happy to get out of the house for a trip to the doctor when we’re in our 60s, but Pete Townshend (a bit sloppy, but still youthful) and Roger Daltrey (high notes still strong) can still rock. And there’s something about looking up into the Super Bowl sky through smoke and green laser lights as “Who Are You” plays below that sticks with you.

 

CBS’ network “stars” are about as appealing as a day-old hot dog. Not sure how it was on TV, but the crowd in Miami was peppered with promos by the CBS series stars for this and that. Are these shows actually viewed by human beings? There needs to be a study.

 

Dwight Freeney’s doctor deserves a raise, and perhaps his own reality show. Four to six weeks, they said. Torn ligaments. All Freeney needed was Curt Schilling’s bloody sock. Freeney sure didn’t look hurt, using his patented spin move to effective use and playing most of the snaps. He did look a little gimpier in the second half, but the sight of him bull-rushing his way to Brees for a sack in the second quarter was goosebump material.

 

The NFL needs to add a 5-yard misconduct penalty. When the Colts were flagged for a 15-yard misconduct on a fairly marginal late hit in the first quarter, it was a huge boost for the then-struggling Saints. They got an automatic first down and 15 huge yards. Why not a new penalty for non-flagrant sideline plays, red-flag kicks, and staged end-zone celebrations? Clearly these infractions aren’t worthy of 15 sometimes pivotal yards. Just sayin.

 

Early jitters nearly cost the Saints the game before it had really started. An overthrow by Drew Brees to Robert Meacham on what could have been a huge gainer caused an opening 3-and-out, and a huge drop by Marques Colston ended the next drive – this after a Courtney Roby kick return fumble took a lucky bounce into the arms of a Saints teammate. The Colts’ 10-0 lead was built largely on this shakiness, and in a Super Bowl emotions can sometimes take on a life of their own. Fortunately for Saints fans, their guys put it together with a great second quarter.

 

Garrett Hartley was worth waiting for. The Saints certainly could have cut the unproven second-year kicker loose when he was hit with a four-game suspension for performance enhancers to start the season. But they dumped veteran John Carney to start and gave Hartley his job back – to fantastic results. Hitting four field goals from 40+ yards in the title game and the Super Bowl is no small feat, and he hit all four with cold-blooded, old-school Adam Vinatieri down-the-middle accuracy.