NFL Super Bowl XLIV Matchup: Colts Vs. Saints

The match up for Super Bowl XLVI (44) has been set with the Indianapolis Colts defeating the New York Jets in the American Football Conference (AFC) championship and the New Orleans Saints defeating the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football Conference (NFC) championship.

For the Colts, this will mark the second visit to the Super Bowl in four years - they emerged as Super Bowl Champions in Super Bowl XLI (41) defeating the NFC Champion Chicago Bears 29-17. The Saints have never been to a Super Bowl, and in fact had only been to one other Conference Championship game - that one against the Chicago Bears team that lost to the Colts in Super Bowl XLI.

Super Bowl XLVI is the first Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXVIII (28) to feature the #1 seeds from each conference.

The Super Bowl is played every year in a neutral site chosen several years in advance. There has never been a Super Bowl played in which one of the participants called that site their home stadium. This year, the game will be played in Miami's Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins. The game has been billed as being in "South Florida" given the name of the stadium has been somewhat in flux and without a clear long term sponsor: Land Shark Lager had an 8-month naming deal which expired on January 5. The facility opened in 1987 and has gone by the names Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium and Land Shark Stadium.

The histories of the two teams could not be more different, yet the franchises are entwined in one important way: Archie Manning, father of Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning, is the Saints' all time passing leader with 21,734 yards. Manning raised his family in the New Orleans area, and Peyton grew up in Louisiana as a Saints fan.

Indianapolis Colts

All Time Record: 441-390-9

Playoff Record: 19-19

Championships: 4 (2 Super Bowls)

The Colts history goes back to 1953 as the Baltimore Colts. Before Peyton Manning, the most notable Quarterback in team history was Johnny Unitas. Their history includes names such as Don Shula, Weeb Ewbank, and Ted Marchibroda. More recent names of note include Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James, Marshall Faulk, and Eric Dickerson.

Their road to the Super Bowl in 2009 included carrying a 14-0 record into their 15th game of the season, whereupon the organization decided to rest its' star players against the New York Jets and subsequently lost the game. Interestingly enough, were it not for that action, the Jets would have had no mathematical chance to get into the playoffs and ultimately face the Colts in the AFC Championship game.

The Colts finished 14-2 on the regular season.

New Orleans Saints

All Time Record: 275-378-5

Playoff Record: 4-6

Championships; 0

The Saints entered the NFL in 1967 and didn't have a winning season until 1987 when they went 12-4 - in 1983 they finished at 8-8. In their very first playoff game after going 12-4, they lost to the 11-5 Philadelphia Eagles 36-20. The team has had only 9 seasons in which they boasted a winning record, and 7 in which they won 10-games or more. This season they finished at 13-3.

Like the Colts, the Saints did not lose until late in the season winning 13 games before dropping their last 3. Their offense was the most prolific in the NFL, scoring 510 points on the season.

The story of this game will undoubtedly be the high powered offenses each team brings to the table. The Colts had been the beneficiaries of good fortune during the course of the season - defeating the New England Patriots by 1 point after Coach Belichick made the controversial call to go for a first down on 4th down with 2-to go deep in the Patriots own territory. That conversion failed and the Colts converted a field goal with little time left. They made the most of their good fortune. The Saints, however, generally throttled their opponents throughout the year, but toward the end of the season their dominance waned. Their 13th win was by 3-points, they lost their last three games of the season - the last one of which was by 13 points. In the playoffs, they have been inconsistent, literally dominating their Divisional round opponent the Arizona Cardinals and in the Championship game, they were literally dominated by the Vikings only to have been the beneficiary of poor play and decision making by the Vikings.

The Colts are the favorite heading into the game.

What's on the line?

If the Colts win this Super Bowl, the debate over team of the decade will have been cast in some doubt. Both the Colts and the Patriots have won an astounding number of games in the first decade of the 2000's: 115 and 112 respectively. The Patriots have won 3- Super Bowl, the Steelers 2. With a second Super Bowl, the Colts more clearly insert themselves into that conversation. The fandom and likely the players will wonder if they could have accomplished what the Patriots came within 2-minutes of in 2007 - 19-0.

If the Saints win, it will be the first ever championship in team history. It will be the resurrection of a team victimized by Hurricane Katrina and a fandom victimized by the publicly contemplated actions of the teams' ownership after the hurricane. It will be, much as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win in Super Bowl XXXVII or New England Patriots win in Super Bowl XXXVI, sweet reward for the fans of the team to whose games they once wore paper shopping bags with the words "Aints" written on them.