Louisiana-born Tracy Porter credited solid homework for his fourth-quarter interception on Peyton Manning that sent the New Orleans Saints on their way to Super Bowl victory in Miami.
Saints cornerback Porter picked off a pass from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Manning that was meant for wide receiver Reggie Wayne and raced 74 yards upfield for a touchdown that put Super Bowl XLIV beyond the AFC champions' reach with the score at 31-17.
"It was great film study," Porter, 23, said of his interception. "We knew that on third (down) and short they stack, and they like the outside release for the slant."
"It was great film study by me, a great jump and a great play."
Picking off the pass was only the start of the great play as Porter crossed into the Colts' half and evaded tackles en route to the end zone.
"When I saw my blockers in front of me and only Peyton (Manning) and the offensive linemen left, I cut back and ran it in," he said.
Coming in the Saints' first Super Bowl in their 42-year history and less than five years since New Orleans was left devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Porter echoed the feelings of his team when he said victory had been for the whole city.
"It means so much. Words can't describe how much this means for New Orleans. I am a Louisiana native, and this is real big," he said.
Manning, a New Orleans native himself and son of former Saints quarterback Archie Manning, praised Porter for reading his pass at crucial time in the game when Indianapolis were 24-17 and within a converted touchdown of levelling the game.
"He made a great play," the Colts quarterback said. "That's all I can say about it. Porter made a heck of a play."
"Certainly it's disappointing. We were down seven there and on the drive before, that was disappointing as well. We had a good drive going, got down there, had good field position."
"I give the Saints a lot of credit. They played well in all phases. Made some critical plays on special teams, defence made stops when they had to, and (quarterback) Drew (Brees) did a good job getting his team in the end zone. They deserve the win."
Brees was named Super Bowl XLIV's Most Valuable Player after completing 32 of his 39 passes for 288 yards and throwing two touchdown passes. It capped a turnaround in his career when he joined the Saints in early 2006, six months after Katrina, as a free agent following a shoulder injury that saw him lose his chance of a lucrative new deal with the San Diego Chargers.
"The popular thing back in 2006 was not to come to New Orleans," quarterback Brees said. "Yet so many of our core players did and we had a dream then and we believed we could do this, that we could become Super Bowl champions."
"It's taken a lot. We've been through a lot of adversity, our city has had to fight through a lot of adversity, but we've done it together and in the end we've gained a lot of strength from them and that's what gave us the ability to go out and win the championship."