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Drew Brees hugs New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton - Source: Reuters -
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New Orleans' Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday was destiny, Saints quarterback Drew Brees said.
Brees, who joined the Saints as a free agent four years ago with the city still reeling from Hurricane Katrina, was named the game's Most Valuable Player after throwing two touchdowns and completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards in the 31-17 win.
"It was all meant to be, it's all destiny," said a visibly emotional Brees as confetti rained down over Dolphin stadium following the Saints first Super Bowl triumph.
"We just believed in ourselves. We knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us. I've tried to imagine what this moment would be like for a long time, and it's even better than expected.
"We've got the best ownership family in the league, the best head coach, the best general manager and the best team and we proved that tonight," he added.
Brees, who began his career in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, joined the Saints in 2006 and became the key element in coach Sean Payton's rebuilding of a franchise that had struggled for so many years.
The 31-year-old Texan came to symbolise the close relationship between the team and a region which struggled to recover from the devastation caused by Katrina.
"Just to think of the road that we've all travelled to get to this point, how much adversity we faced along the way," added Brees, the toast of the partying Saints fans at Dolphin Stadium blasting out their now renowned "Who Dat" chant.
"People believed in us and gave us the strength to go out and do what we did tonight.
"We played for so much more than just ourselves. We played for our city, we played for the entire Gulf Coast region, we played for the entire 'Who Dat' nation, who were behind us every step of the way."
