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New Orleans wins Super Bowl for first time
(CNN) — The New Orleans Saints won [venceram] the Super Bowl [final do campeonato de futebol americano] for the first time in their 43-year history with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at the Sun Life Arena in Miami on Sunday night.
The NFC [National Football Conference (uma das duas conferências da liga profissional)] champions recovered from a slow start [mau começo; início lento (lit.)] to deny [evitar; negar (lit.)] Indianapolis a repeat of their Super Bowl success against the Chicago Bears in the same stadium three years ago.
Inspired by MVP [Most Valuable Player (melhor jogador em campo)] Drew Brees, who won his head-to-head [disputa direta] with fellow [colega] star quarterback Peyton Manning, the Saints took command [assumiu a liderança; mandou no jogo (inf.)] after trailing [estar atrás no placar] 17-16 going into the final quarter [no começo do último quarto].
Jeremy Shockey bulldozed over [passou como um trator] for a touchdown [o “gol” no futebol americano que vale 6 pontos] to give them a lead they never relinquished [vantagem mantida até o final], increased by a two-point conversion [jogada opcional que substitui o “extra point” e que, como o próprio nome já diz, vale dois pontos] after another crucial call [decisão] by coach [técnico, treinador] Sean Payton.
Trailing 24-17, the Colts needed a touchdown to force overtime [prorrogação], but Manning saw his pass intercepted [interceptação (e a consequente perda da posse de bola)] by Tracy Porter, who returned for a 74-yard touchdown which all but sealed their fate [que praticamente acabou selando seu destino].
It proved a sweet triumph for perennial [eternos, constantes] underdogs [prováveis perdedores] New Orleans, coming five years after the city was decimated [dizimada, destruída] by Hurricane [furacão] Katrina.
Thousands of fans in New Orleans took to the street [saíram às ruas] as it became clear that their side [time, equipe; lado (lit.)] was finally going to triumph.
In a game initially dominated by defenses, the Colts followed an early field goal [chute que vale 3 pontos] from Matt Stover by ending the first quarter with a Super Bowl record-equaling [que igualou o recorde] 96-yard drive [campanha, ataque] with quarterback Manning at the heart [no comando; no coração (lit.)].
He eventually threw [acabou fazendo um lançamento] for Pierre Garçon to go over in the right of the end zone [região nas extremidades do campo onde são anotados os pontos] and give his side a 10-0 lead [vantagem].
Saints gained more momentum [embalaram] in the second quarter, but even with Brees finding his range [encaixando seu jogo; melhorando o desempenho] could not secure [marcar] a touchdown.
But they did score [marcar pontos] through two field goals by kicker [chutador] Garrett Hartley, the hero [heroi] of the NFC Championship victory over Minnesota.
Trailing 10-6 at the half [no intervalo], Saints coach Payton called for an audacious [audacioso, ousado] onside kick [reposição de bola arriscada, lance geralmente usado nos finais dos jogos quando se está perdendo], the first in Super Bowl history outside of the fourth quarter.
Under massive [enorme] pressure [pressão] the Saints claimed [conseguiram] the first down [a primeira descida (direito de, em até 4 tentativas, avançar 10 jardas)] from a advantageous field position and soon afterwards Pierre Thomas was celebrating his side’s first touchdown as they claimed a 13-10 lead.
Manning had not completed a pass for 70 minutes but on the next set of drives [próximos ataques] by the Colts found Joseph Addai who put them 17-13 ahead [à frente] with their second touchdown of the night.
Hartley kicked another long range [distante] field goal to keep his side within a point [um ponto atrás] at the third quarter.
Brees was starting to dominate for the Saints and in the final quarter tied [empatou] the previous record for completions [passes completos] in a Super Bowl held by [cujo detentor é] Tom Brady with his 32nd.
Two unanswered [seguidos (e sem conceder pontos ao adversário)] touchdowns left favorites and AFC [American Football Conference (uma das duas conferências da liga profissional)] champions Indianapolis well beaten [bem abatidos, abalados] and it was New Orleans who lifted [ergueram] the Vince Lombardi trophy in their first appearance in a Super Bowl.
An emotional Brees captured the mood [descreveu o “astral”] of the moment in his post-match comments. “We just believed in ourselves. We knew we had the entire city and maybe the entire country behind us [torcendo por nós]. Mardi Gras may never end. The celebrations may never end,” he said.
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