19 SUPER BOWL THINGS

-The Saints once had their own #18 QB. The following is my earliest (remembered) mental image of New Orleans Saint football: https://www.beckett.com/images/pgitems/335150201.jpg

-This game in the simplest of terms: The Colts are 16-0 when they try to win at football.

-I'd rather eat jambalaya than pork tenderloin or whatever it is.

-According to my (rather significant) sample, Colts' fans think they will roll. Then again, this is the same team that beat an 8-8 49er team at home by 4. And a 7-9 Jacksonville team at home by 2.

-Did you know that Peyton Manning's father played for the Saints? I think someone told me that once.

-The Saints actually attempted to go 16-0. And then still lost to Tampa Bay at home.

-Yes, the Colts have made it look easy in the playoffs, but in 7 games this year they had to come back from 4th quarter deficits. (None of those games were with the Saints' offense on the other sideline).

-Reggie Wayne grew up idolizing Eric Martin. I remember I had a Topps "1,000-yard receiver" card of Eric Martin, and in my mind he was so monumental.

-The Colts have beaten two 9-7 Wild Card teams at home to get to this point (a Jets team that was at one time 4-6, and the Ravens who started 6-6).

-I like it when the clear season-long two best teams meet in the Super Bowl. It hasn't happened since Colts Bears.

-The Colts are the first team to reach the Super Bowl without having to beat one division winner since the '05 Seahawks, and the first AFC representative to ever do so in the history of the NFL.

-If this comes down to the kicker...Stover is 42 years old with 1,157 career attempts. Garrett Hartley is 23, with 22 total tries (including extra points).

-The Colts still haven't played a team with fewer than six losses this season. That is hard to fathom.

-The Saints are BY FAR the best opponent on the Colts schedule this season. By a long shot.

-Since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff and started seeding both conferences 1-6 in 1990, no team in either conference had made it to the Super Bowl without beating at least one team that won 10 or more games in the regular season.

-The Saints defense is not rated very highly. Then again, they had huge leads all year. And teams dropped back and passed it all over the place late against a non-aggressive defensive approach.

-Common opponents: Five. Both teams played the Patriots and Cardinals. New Orleans beat them 38-17 and 45-14, respectively. Indy? 35-34 and 31-10.

-The lack of respect for the Saints around here is astounding. The Colts are favored and should be, but I'm shocked people don't recognize how good the Saints were this year.

-The Super Bowl Final score? 31-30.