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www.lobservateur.com FEBRUARY 6, 2010 SPECIAL TO L’OBSERVATEUR MIAMI – A pair of high-powered offenses led by two future hall of fame quarterbacks will battle it out Sunday night when the New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV from Sun Life Stadium in Miami. Both teams finished the regular season at the top of their respec- tive conferences. The NFC champion Saints finished the season with a 13-3 record, followed by victories over the Arizona Cardinals (45-14) and the Minnesota Vikings (31-28) in the playoffs. The AFC champion Colts managed a 14-2 regular season mark and cruised to playoff victories over the Baltimore Ravens (20-3) and New York Jets (30-17). Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup, which kicks off around 5:30 p.m. on local CBS affiliate WWL, will be the first time since the 1993 season that the two top seeded playoff teams meet. The game will mark the first ever Super Bowl appearance for the Saints, who have overcome 44 years of mediocrity on the football field. The team first made the playoffs in 1987 and notched their first postseason win in 2000 after three previous unsuccessful tries. The Saints came within one game of the Super Bowl in 2006, before losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship. For the Colts, it’s their second Super Bowl appearance in four years. The team last made it in the 2006 season when they defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI, which was also played in Miami. Both quarterbacks, Drew Brees for the Saints and Peyton Manning for the Colts, are among the top of the league at their position. Both have been known to pick apart opposing defenses with deci- sive throws, quick action and very few mistakes. The game has the potential to be a fast paced, high scoring affair that may ultimately come down to which team has possession of the ball last. According to Las Vegas odds makers, the Saints enter the game as a five-point underdog as of Thursday,but they are the sentimental favorite to win Sunday night. Saints in Super Bowl Team takes on Indy in first title game appearance Two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks will square off in Super Bowl XLIV this Sunday in Miami, when the New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees (top) takes on Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts. vs. Sunday 5:25 p.m. Sun Life Stadium Miami, Fla. Meet a ‘Who Dat!’ from across the pond PAGE 5 Local Saints fan photos PAGES 6-8

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www.lobservateur.com FEBRUARY 6, 2010SPECIAL TO L’OBSERVATEUR

MIAMI – A pair ofhigh-powered offensesled by two future hall offame quarterbacks willbattle it out Sundaynight when the NewOrleans Saints take onthe Indianapolis Coltsin Super Bowl XLIVfrom Sun Life Stadiumin Miami.

Both teams finishedthe regular season atthe top of their respec-tive conferences. TheNFC champion Saintsfinished the season with a 13-3 record, followed byvictories over the Arizona Cardinals (45-14) and theMinnesota Vikings (31-28) in the playoffs. The AFCchampion Colts managed a 14-2 regular seasonmark and cruised to playoff victories over theBaltimore Ravens (20-3) and New York Jets (30-17).Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup, which kicks offaround 5:30 p.m. on local CBS affiliate WWL, willbe the first time since the 1993 season that the twotop seeded playoff teams meet.

The game will mark the first ever Super Bowlappearance for the Saints, who have overcome 44years of mediocrity on the football field. The teamfirst made the playoffs in 1987 and notched theirfirst postseason win in 2000 after three previousunsuccessful tries. The Saints came within onegame of the Super Bowl in 2006, before losing to theChicago Bears in the NFC Championship.

For the Colts, it’s their second Super Bowlappearance in four years. The team last made it inthe 2006 season when they defeated the ChicagoBears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI, which was alsoplayed in Miami.

Both quarterbacks, Drew Brees for the Saintsand Peyton Manning for the Colts, are among thetop of the league at their position. Both have beenknown to pick apart opposing defenses with deci-sive throws, quick action and very few mistakes.The game has the potential to be a fast paced, highscoring affair that may ultimately come down towhich team has possession of the ball last.

According to Las Vegas odds makers, the Saintsenter the game as a five-point underdog as ofThursday, but they are the sentimental favorite towin Sunday night.

Saints in Super BowlTeam takes

on Indy in first

title gameappearance

Two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks will square off in Super Bowl XLIV this Sunday in Miami, when the NewOrleans Saints’ Drew Brees (top) takes on Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts.

vs.

Sunday5:25 p.m.

Sun Life StadiumMiami, Fla.

Meet a ‘Who Dat!’ from across the pondPAGE 5

Local Saints fan photosPAGES 6-8

PAGE 2 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | FEBRUARY 6, 2010

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

FEBRUARY 6, 2010 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | PAGE 3

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

BY ROBIN SHANNONL’OBSERVATEUR

LAPLACE – Forty-three years ago,LaPlace native RolandLaBranche Jr. wagereda bet on the first play ofthe first game of thefirst season in the sto-ried history of the NewOrleans Saints.

On that play, Saintskick returner JohnGilliam ran the game’sopening kickoff back 94yards for the Saints’first ever touchdown.

Although the Saintswould end up losingthat game 27-13 to theLos Angeles Rams,LaBranche, by virtue ofthe opening score,would walk away fromthe stadium a big win-ner.

“He entered a pool atthe game and wound upwinning this huge bot-tle of whiskey,” saidLaBranche’s daughterAnnette Ayme. “It camewith its own little plat-form and, as kids, wewere never able totouch it.”

The prize was a gal-lon-sized bottle of OldGranddad Whiskey.Ayme said her father

saw his little victory asa sign of bigger and bet-ter things, whichexplains the little pacthe made with himselfand his family.

“He specifically stat-ed that the bottle wouldnot be opened until theSaints reached theSuper Bowl,” Aymesaid. “I don’t think hequite expected it to takethis long.”

As the years passed —and the Saints’ strug-gled along season afterseason — the bottle con-tinued to sit, collectingdust in a bedroom atLaBranche’s LaPlacehome.

In 2000, LaBranche’shome caught fire, andthe roof caved in on theroom holding the bottle.Ayme said as the familysifted through the rub-ble, they came acrossthe bottle still sitting inits metal carrier in thecorner of the room.

“It looked like it was-n’t even touched,”Ayme said. “It was clearthat this bottle hadsomething specialabout it.”

Ayme said her fatherpassed away in 2005, theyear before the Saints

would come as close asever to reaching the biggame.

With family by hisside, Ayme said herfather uttered his finalinstructions to his fourchildren.

“He said to all of us,‘Do not touch that bottleuntil we get to theSuper Bowl,’” Aymesaid. “It was veryimportant to him.”

Now that the Saintshave finally reached thebig game, Ayme saidher family is ready tocrack the seal on theaged bottle of alcohol,either to celebrate amonumental victory oragonize in defeat. Thefamily has scheduled aparty that will bringAyme’s brothers, Ro-land LaBranche Jr. andTimmy LaBranche, andsister Patsy Millettogether.

“We will definitelyopen it win or lose.”Ayme said.

“His instructionswere to wait until theSaints get there, not towait until they win. Ithink we will probablywait until the end of thegame just to be safe.

Whiskey bottlehas seen it all

The late Roland LaBranche Sr. won this gallon-sized bottle of Old Grand-DadWhiskey during the first ever New Orleans Saints football game in 1967.LaBranche made a promise that he would not open the bottle until the Saintsreached the Super Bowl. (Staff photo by Robin Shannon)

Prized bottle of whiskeywon at first Saints game in ‘67

PAGE 4 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | FEBRUARY 6, 2010

Showing Saints love

Tania Tabor’s kindergarten class at St. Joan of Arc School in LaPlacefind the words to express how they feel about the Saints.

BY ROBIN SHANNONL’OBSERVATEUR

LAPLACE – Few ofthe fans who relished inthe ecstasy followingthe New OrleansSaints’ victory in theNFC Championshipgame Sunday eveningtraveled as many milesas Craig Rushton did tojoin in the celebration.

Rushton, 46, a devotedfollower of the “Blackand Gold” since 1991,journeyed more than6,000 miles from hishome in England toclaim his spot insidethe Louisiana Super-dome.

“I’ve followed theNFL for years fromEngland,” Rushtonsaid. “One year, on atrip to New Orleans, Iwatched a game fromthe Superdome, and Iwas hooked. Somethingabout the team justdraws you in, and thesame could be saidabout the city.”

Rushton was inLaPlace last week withfriends Wayne Vick-nair, Fay Stanley andTrudy Torres, who alljoined him for thegame. Rushton said heand Torres forged afriendship after the twomet boarding a cruiseship in Tampa, Fla., inlate December on thesame weekend theSaints were playing theTampa Bay Buccaneersin New Orleans.

“I was on vacationwith my wife, and wewere waiting to boardthe ship,” Rushton said.“I went into a sportsbar to watch some ofthe game, and they toldme they didn’t have iton television, so I wentto grab my laptop towatch the game fromthere.”

Torres said shewalked into the samebar and shouted in dis-belief that the gamewasn’t on.

“I couldn’t believe thegame wasn’t on,” Tor-res said. “As soon as Iopen my mouth, I seeCraig jump up with hisSaints stuff on watch-ing the game. At that

moment, we werejoined at the hip. Wherethat laptop went, Iwent.”

Rushton, a seasonticket holder, said hewas only able to attendfour games this seasonincluding the victoryover the Vikings Sun-day. He said his obvioustravel constraints forcehim to make tough deci-sions about whichgames to go to.

“I try to get themwhen they are playingtwo home games backto back in order to opti-mize my time in thecity,” Rushton said. “Iactually faced an unfor-tunate dilemma indeciding whether toattend the Cardinalsgame the week beforeor this past game. Igambled that theywould make the cham-pionship and, fortu-nately, I guessed cor-rect.”

Rushton was in atten-dance for several mar-quee moments inrecent Saints history.He was in town whenthe Saints played theNew England Patriotsearlier this year andwas also present whenthe Saints reopened theSuperdome in 2006, fol-lowing Hurricane Ka-trina.

“That was such a piv-otal moment for theteam and the city,” hesaid. “Prior to thestorm, I think a lot ofpeople were starting tothink the team wasgoing to move out ofthe city to San Antonio.I think Katrina went along way in securingthe team’s place in NewOrleans. The Saints area way of life here. It iseverything to thesefans. Everyone who fol-lows the Saints puts somuch passion intothose 16 weeks.”

Rushton said the pas-sion of Saints fansweek after week rivalsthe passion of devotedsoccer followers inGreat Britain and otherparts of Europe. Theonly difference is that aSaints game is a familyevent.

“If you go to anyother stadium for afootball game or soccermatch, the crowd is pre-dominately white, mid-dle class men withsome amount ofmoney,” said Rushton.“You don’t see that withthe Saints. People of allraces and all ages go tothese games. There area lot more women andchildren in the crowd,and they are not justgoing for the game.Saints game days aresocial events.”

Rushton, a magazinepublisher and advertis-er, makes his home inthe city of Stoke-on-Trent in the county ofStaffordshire, England.The city is situatedabout 100 miles north ofLondon and 40 milessouth of Manchester.

“It’s literally the mid-dle of England,” saidRushton. “It’s a citythat is actually compa-rable in size to NewOrleans. Our big claimto fame is pottery.”

Since the NFL hasstarted scheduling reg-ular season games in

London, Rushton saidthe league’s followinghas grown tremendous-ly.

He said there areother Saints fans hereand there, but most peo-ple follow the teamscloser to the east cost ofthe United States.

“There are lots offans of the (Miami)Dolphins, New Englandand the New Yorkteams,” he said. “It isusually places wherethey end up when theycome across to visit thestates.”

Rushton said he hasstuck by his team dur-ing the highest highsand the lowest lows andhas never given up ontheir success. He saidthe team has enjoyed asteady improvementthat culminated withthe win on Sunday.

“I think when thegame ended I was morein shock than any-thing,” Rushton said.“This sort of thing justdoesn’t happen to theSaints. I’m still waitingto wake up from thisdream. When I think

about it, 24 hours fromnow when I am sittingat my office desk I willbe saying to myself,

‘Did this really justhappen?’ It is amazing,and I am so proud tohave witnessed it.”

A ‘Who Dat!’ from across the pond

Trudy Torres (left) and Craig Rushton share a laughMonday in Torres’ office at Iberia Bank in LaPlace.(Staff photos by Robin Shannon)

Craig Rushton (far left) chats with (left to right) Trudy Torres, mailman George Green and Wayne Vicknairin the lobby of Iberia Bank in LaPlace about the Saints dramatic victory against the Minnesota Vikings.Rushton traveled from England to be present for the historic game.

Rushton travels from Englandto celebrate historic win

“Something about the team just draws you in, and the same could be said about the city.”CRAIG RUSHTON

Saints fan from Stoke-on-Trent, England

FEBRUARY 6, 2010 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | PAGE 5

LOCAL SAINTS FANS CELEBRATE!

LaPlace resident MikeTregre (right) shows off

his Saints flag whilewearing one of the orga-

nization’s “FinishStrong” T-shirts.

At 5 months old, MaddoxMadere of Norco (left) isone of the youngestSaints fans around. He isthe son of Randy andNicole Madere.

Allene Gregoire, who had had season tickets since 1970, has clippings from the Saints covering the walls of her garage.

Mathew Zeringue shows off his reading skills using the back of Alana Baker’s jersey.

Accordingto hergreat-grand-mother,DonnaSaacks, 2-year-oldMcKaylaTregle(left) canalreadysing the“Who Dat”song.

When the residents of St. James Parish celebrated the Christmas seasonwith the traditional bonfires this year, at least two bonfire builders’thoughts were on the Saints.

PAGE 6 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | FEBRUARY 6, 2010

LOCAL SAINTS FANS CELEBRATE!

Jennifer Glidden of Reserveand Mike Silva of Lutcher

(above) enjoy the NFCChampionship game at the

Super Dome.

Mike Silva (right) gets firedup outside the Super Dome

before the Saints gameagainst the Vikings.

Although itmay not beofficial Saintsgear, JamesHeard’s “St.John Saints”jacket stillhelps himshow his spiritafter the NFCChampionshipgame.

Tabatha Leblanc of Lutcher takes in a game at the Dome with her good buddy,former Saints star Joe Horn.

MatthewLambert ofLutcher is obvi-ously an extralarge fan ofJeremyShockey.

St. Joan of Arc Catholic School student, Janet Nelson, shows her Saints Prideduring the St. Joan of Arc Krewe Jeanne D’Arc Carnival Ball.

Madeline Mora and Kynlee Madere of Lutcher lovethe Saints.

Aubrey Madere (above)and Leah LeBlanc(below) like to wearmatching outfits whenthey watch the Saints.

St. Joan of Arc Catholic School Pre-Kindergarten students (left to right) ChaseBordelon and Payton Bailey show their Saints spirit during “Black and GoldDay” at St. Joan of Arc School.

FEBRUARY 6, 2010 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | PAGE 7

LOCAL SAINTS FANS CELEBRATE!

Jake Mora, EastonMadere, Will Baker and

Alana Baker, all fromLutcher, don’t have time

to look at the camerawhen the Saints

are playing.

Local Saints super fansWayne Vicknair (left)

and Natalie Tatje standon the sidelines before

one of the Saints’ homegames.

PAGE 8 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | FEBRUARY 6, 2010

Referee Scott Greenwill lead the seven-mancrew of game officialsselected to work SuperBowl XLIV this Sundaybetween the NewOrleans Saints andIndianapolis Colts atSun Life Stadium, theNFL announced.

The other members ofthe Super Bowl XLIVofficiating crew areUndrey Wash (umpire),John McGrath (headlinesman), Jeff Seeman(line judge), Rob Ver-natchi (field judge),Greg Meyer (side judge)and Greg Steed (backjudge).

The Super Bowl XLIVofficiating crew collec-tively has 66 years ofNFL officiating experi-ence and 36 combinedplayoff game assign-

ments.Green, in his 19th sea-

son as an NFL gameofficial, served as theback judge in SuperBowls XXXVI andXXXVIII.

Promoted to refereein 2004, he has officiat-ed in 12 playoff games –two Super Bowls, oneconference champi-onship, three divisionalplayoffs and six wildcard games.

Under the NFL offici-ating program’s evalua-

tion system, the high-est-rated eligible offi-cials at each positionearn the right to workthe Super Bowl. SuperBowl officials musthave at least five yearsof NFL experience andprevious playoff as-signments.

Jim Lapetina is thereplay assistant. Thevideo operator is JimPearson.

THE ROAD TO MIAMI

REGULAR SEASON (13-3) Sept. 13 DETROIT LIONS W 45-27

Sept. 20 @ Philadelphia Eagles W 48-22

Sept. 27 @ Buffalo Bills W 27-7

Oct. 4 NEW YORK JETS W 24-10

Oct. 11 BYE

Oct. 18 NEW YORK GIANTS W 48-27

Oct. 25 @ Miami Dolphins W 46-34

Nov. 2 ATLANTA FALCONS W 35-27

Nov. 8 CAROLINA PANTHERS W 30-20

Nov. 15 @ St. Louis Rams W 28-23

Nov. 22 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 38-7

Nov. 30 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS W 38-17

Dec. 6 @ Washington Redskins W 33-30 OT

Dec. 13 @ Atlanta Falcons W 26-23

Dec. 19 DALLAS COWBOYS L 17-24

Dec. 27 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS L 17-20 OT

Jan. 3 @ Carolina Panthers L 10-23

NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS Jan. 16 ARIZONA CARDINALS W 45-14

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Jan. 24 MINNESOTA VIKINGS W 31-28 OT

SUPER BOWL XLIV Feb. 7 Indianapolis Colts 5:25 (CT)

Super Bowl XLIV officials named

FEBRUARY 6, 2010 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | PAGE 9

FT. LAUDERDALE –FedEx (NYSE: FDX)and the NFL Wed-nesday announced thewinners of the seventhannual FedEx Air &Ground® NFL Playersof the Year Awards at apress conference inSouth Florida, site ofSuper Bowl XLIV.

• Quarterback DrewBrees of the NewOrleans Saints wasnamed the FedEx AirNFL Player of the Year.

• Running back ChrisJohnson of the Ten-nessee Titans wasnamed the FedExGround NFL Player ofthe Year.

In honor of the win-ners’ outstanding play,

FedEx is donating$25,000 to the Safe KidsUSA coalitions in New

Orleans and Nashville,the local organizationsin each player’s market.

For the seventh sea-son in a row, the Air &Ground program was awin for the local com-munity. As part of thisseason’s Air & Groundprogram, FedExteamed up with SafeKids USA – a nationalnon-profit organizationthat works to preventaccidental injuryamong children – todeliver safe kids.Throughout the season,FedEx made weekly$1,000 donations in thenames of the Air &Ground NFL Players ofthe Week to their localSafe Kids coalitions tofund pedestrian safetyimprovements and edu-cation efforts.

To complement theweekly program, FedExalso hosted pedestriansafety clinics with NFLplayers at a series ofelementary schoolsacross the country, toeducate students aboutsafety and provide$10,000 in additionalfunding for each of thelocal Safe Kids coali-tions for communityimprovements.

· In Minneapolis, thecoalition’s executiveboard worked with thecity’s public worksdepartment to identifya school that was notonly susceptible tospeeding, but wasreceiving 500 additionalstudents for the schoolyear. The FedEx dona-tion of more than$25,000 was used by thelocal Safe Kids coali-tion at Plymouth

Middle School to installtwo radar speed signs,updated lighting andsafety pylons in theroad to slow down traf-fic near the school.

• In San Francisco,the Safe Kids coalitionwill use its $10,000 infunding to improvepedestrian crosswalks,install flashing pedes-trian lights and add “noparking” signs aroundFair Oaks ElementarySchool, an area where alarge percentage of stu-dents walk to school.

Since 2000, FedEx hasdonated $12 million tosupport Safe Kids tohelp improve pedestri-an safety efforts world-wide.

Outstanding Air & Ground Performances

New Orleans’ DrewBrees completed 70.62percent of his passes in2009, setting the NFLrecord for completionpercentage in a season.He threw for 4,388yards, extending hisconsecutive 4,000 pass-ing yard seasons tofour, a franchise record.Brees threw 34 touch-downs and became thefirst player in NFL his-tory to throw six touch-down passes on KickoffWeekend. With ninetouchdown passesthrough Week 2, Breestied for the most TDpasses through the firsttwo games of a season.Brees became thefastest quarterback toreach 15,000 passingyards with a team whenthe Saints beat theGiants in Week 6,reaching this milestonein 53 games. He quar-terbacked the Saints toa 13-3 record and thenumber one seed in theNFC. Brees was nomi-nated for five FedEx Air

NFL Player of the Weekawards in 2009, win-ning five times.

Tennessee’s ChrisJohnson rushed for2,006 yards in 2009becoming the sixthplayer in NFL historyto rush for 2,000 yards.He also broke thescrimmage yardsrecord totaling 2,509.Johnson recorded 11consecutive 100-yardgames, tied for the sec-ond-longest streak inNFL history, and postedat least 125 rushingyards in six consecutivegames, tying the NFLrecord. This season,Johnson became thefirst player in NFL his-tory with six consecu-tive games of 125+rushing yards and a5.0+ yards per carryaverage in each ofthose games. In Week 2,Johnson became thefirst player in NFL his-tory to record a 90-plusyard rushing touch-down (91), 50-plus yardrushing touchdown(57), and 60-plus yardreceiving touchdown(69) in a game. Johnsonstarted all 16 games andhad 14 rushing touch-downs. He was nomi-nated for six FedExGround NFL Player ofthe Week awards in2009, winning twice.

Brees and Johnsonwere selected from apanel of three finalistsin each of their respec-tive Air and Groundcategories. The final-ists were chosen by apanel of NFL experts

based on the season’sfan voting. The otherFedEx Air NFL Playersof the Year finalistswere quarterbacksPeyton Manning of theIndianapolis Colts andBrett Favre of theMinnesota Vikings,while the FedExGround NFL Players ofthe Year finalistsincluded running backsMaurice Jones-Drew ofthe JacksonvilleJaguars and AdrianPeterson of theMinnesota Vikings.

More than 2,070,665fan votes were cast atNFL.com from Jan. 11-29, to decide the win-ners.

Former winners ofthe FedEx Air &Ground NFL Players ofthe Year Awardinclude:

· (2008) New OrleansSaints QB Drew Breesand Minnesota VikingsRB Adrian Peterson

· (2007) Green BayPackers QB Brett Favreand JacksonvilleJaguars RB Fred Taylor

· (2006) New OrleansSaints QB Drew Breesand San Diego Char-gers RB LaDanianTomlinson

· (2005) Bengals QBCarson Palmer andSeattle Seahawks RBShaun Alexander

· (2004) IndianapolisColts QB PeytonManning and New YorkJets RB Curtis Martin

· (2003) IndianapolisColts QB PeytonManning and GreenBay Packers RB AhmanGreen

• DATE:Sunday, Feb. 7

• TIME:5:25 (CT)

• SITE: Sun LifeStadium

•WORTH NOTING:The Saints now have a4-6 all-time record inthe postseason, 4-3 athome...QB Drew Breestied his playoff career-high with three touch-down passes, as hecompleted 17-of-31 pass-es for 197 yards in theNFC Championship.Brees’ career postsea-son passer rating of100.6 is the third-high-est all-time of passerswith a minimum of 150attempts. He willbecome the first Texasnative to start at QB ina Super Bowl...Thegame will be nationally

televised on CBS withJim Nantz handlingplay-by-play and PhilSimms serving as coloranalyst...The game canheard regionally on theSaints Radio Network(870 AM or 105.3 FMlocally) with JimHendersonhandlingplay-by-play, HokieGajan serving as coloranalyst and KristianGaric reporting fromthe New Orleans side-lines...A national radio

broadcast will also beavailable on WestwoodOne with Marv Alberthandling play-by-play,Boomer Esiason serv-ing as color analystand James Lofton andMark Malone on thesidelines...A Spanishlanguage broadcast isavailable locally onWFNO 830 AM withEmilio Peralta han-dling play-by-play andMarco Garcia servingas color analyst.

GAME DAY AT A GLANCE

Brees named FedEx Air POY

Drew Brees won his third FedEx Air Player of the Year Award this season.(Photo from Neworleanssaints.com)

Saints O-linewins Madden

protector awardThe New Orleans Saints’ offensive line has

been awarded the Madden Most ValuableProtectors Award.

The award recognizes and cel-ebrates the backbone of everygreat NFL team - the offen-sive line.

The National Foot-ball League, PrilosecOTC® and Pro-footballHall-of-Fame Member JohnMadden joined forces tocreate the first Madden MostValuable Protectors Award, presented byPrilosec OTC. The award was based on 2009regular season performance, and will cele-brate the important role that offensive line-men play in their team's success throughoutthe season.

PAGE 10 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | FEBRUARY 6, 2010

Are you a Drew Breesfan? How ‘bout a fan ofGeorge Rodrigue andhis Blue Dog? Do youwant to help your com-munity?

Yes? Then read on.The St. John United

Way is selling chancesto win a 26-inch by 42-inch Drew Brees BlueDog print for $10 each.The print is numbered,matted and framed andwill be signed by bothRodrigue and Brees.

Prior to the NFCChampionship game,the print was valued at$9,000, according toDean Torres, director ofthe St. John United Way.

Torres said all pro-ceeds will stay local andbenefit agencies servedby the parish organiza-tion.

The drawing will beheld March 10.

If you want to pur-chase a raffle ticket, call(985) 651-9118 or go bythe St. John United Wayoffice, 1402 W. AirlineHighway in LaPlace.

Portraitraffle

to helpcharity

(Regular Season) Leading after first quarter: 17-3 Leading at halftime: 32-5 Leading after third quarter: 32-4 Saints score first: 21-6 Saints 200+ yards passing: 31-21 Opponent under 200 yards passing:16-10 Saints have 100+ yards rushing: 28-8 Forcing 3+ turnovers: 16-2

Defense has three or more sacks: 15-6 Indoors: 23-16 Outdoors: 15-10 At Home: 19-13 On the road: 19-13 On artificial turf: 27-15 Scoring 20 or more points: 38-14 Allowing 20 or fewer points: 22-3 Committing zero turnovers: 13-0

SAINTS RECORDS UNDER SEAN PAYTON

FEBRUARY 6, 2010 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | PAGE 11

Da’Ja Thomas, an 8-year-old second-grader at NewSarpy Elementary School, wrote this letter to Saints.

A letter from a young Saints fan

PAGE 12 | SUPER BOWL XLIV | FEBRUARY 6, 2010