Hometown hero clinches victory

MIAMI – Louisiana native Tracy Porter watched the Saints every Sunday with his family and friends growing up in Port Allen, across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge.

He remembers bags on the heads of embarrassed fans.

On Sunday, Porter helped Saints fans take the bags off their heads for good.

Porter, who played cornerback for IU’s football team until he was drafted by the Saints in the second round in 2008, secured a 31-17 Super Bowl victory with his interception-turned-touchdown off the Colts’ Peyton Manning.

“It was great film study,” Porter said of the his interception Sunday. “We knew that on third-and-short they stack, and they like the outside release for the slant.”

In the NFC title game, his late interception of Brett Favre stalled Minnesota’s potential game-winning drive. The Saints went on to beat the Vikings in overtime to earn their first-ever Super Bowl berth.

Porter earned a starting cornerback spot in his rookie season. But that year was cut short by a broken wrist in the first half of the season.

This season, Porter went down in midseason with what was thought to be a season-ending knee injury at St. Louis.

The next day, Porter – and the Saints – got good news. It was a severe sprain. His season wasn’t over. He returned in Week 15 and played brilliantly in the playoffs.

“It means so much,” Porter said. “Words can’t describe how much this means for New Orleans.”

On Super Bowl Sunday, Porter met his regular New Orleans barber in his Miami hotel and had his head shaved in a design. This time, there was “SB 44” and a rendering of the Louisiana Superdome connected by a road to the Vince Lombardi Trophy.