NEW ORLEANS - -Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls as the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback. But, like others from this area, he has a special place in his heart for the New Orleans Saints.
A native of Shreveport, he has closely followed the rare ups and frequent downs of a franchise that Sunday secured its first Super Bowl bid in the club's 43-year history. The Saints will play the Indianapolis Colts on Feb. 7 in South Florida.
"You get the feeling if the Saints win and go to the Super Bowl, it rights the ship," said Bradshaw, a Fox analyst in attendance for New Orleans' 31-28 overtime victory Sunday over the Minnesota Vikings. "Finally we have something that lets us stick our heads above the clouds. It's our self-esteem."
Former Saints quarterback Archie Manning understands that sentiment. He still lives in New Orleans. But his middle son is Peyton Manning, Indianapolis' quarterback.
For the elder Manning, there's no question where his allegiances lie.
"I'm going to pull for my son," he told the Associated Press Sunday, after Indianapolis beat the visiting New York Jets in the AFC championship game.
"Anybody who thinks it's different must not have children."
A crowd of 71,276 packed the Superdome on Sunday - the stadium's largest crowd to watch a Saints game - and stayed long after to roar approval during the presentation of the conference championship trophy and dance to the team's unofficial hip-hop anthem, "Stand Up & Get Crunk."
Bradshaw said the people of New Orleans "don't need much of an excuse to party" and are especially appreciative of the good things in life in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's devastation.
"This city has the perfect attitude: 'I woke up today and I'm alive. This is great,' " he said. "That's how they live their life down here."
The crowd size wasn't just counting Saints fans who could afford tickets to the game. The local television numbers were astounding. In New Orleans, the game delivered the highest local rating (63.2) for a postseason game ever, beating the home-market rating of every team that has ever played in a Super Bowl. It's estimated that 82 percent of televisions that were on in that city were tuned to the game.
"The city is on its way to recovery and in a lot of ways it's back better than ever," said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, whose team is a five-point underdog to Indianapolis. "For us as a team, we use the strength and resiliency of our fans. We go out and play every Sunday and go out with the confidence to do it."
Even Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre appreciates that. He's from Kiln, Miss., about 60 miles from New Orleans, and he grew up rooting for the Saints. "I would have loved to represent the NFC," he said. "But, as I told [Saints coach Sean Payton] throughout the year when we talked, 'If it's not us, I hope it's you guys.' "