WHO DAT? It’s the New Orleans Saints of course. When you knock Brett Favre out of the playoffs to attend your 1st Super Bowl, anything short of a cover would be uncivilized.

SI’s Peter King writes – Big Easy Does It – Mardi Gras came early in New Orleans after the Saints dumped the Vikings to give the beleaguered citizens their first Super Bowl

Coming up with a motivational tool is huge for NFL coaches, particularly on the eve of an important game. Last Saturday night, before the biggest game in the 43-year history of the Saints, New Orleans coach Sean Payton produced a doozy at the team’s downtown hotel. As the players settled in for their last team meeting before the NFC Championship Game against the Vikings, the lights dimmed, Aerosmith’s Dream On started playing at a Superdome-decibel level, and on the video screen at the front of the room great moments in sports history went by in rapid-fire order.

Babe Ruth homering, Michael Jordan scoring, Pete Maravich floating, Roberto Clemente fielding, Tiger Woodsfist-pumping, Eddie Robinson coaching, Wayne Gretzky scoring, Jim Valvano leaping, Larry Bird shooting, Muhammad Ali punching, the Bears Super Bowl–shuffling, Doug Flutie passing, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team celebrating—on and on, as goose bumps rose to the pulsating chorus: “Dream on, dream on, dream on….” Read More…