IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1080 

Congratulating the New Orleans Saints upon their winning Super Bowl XLIV. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2010 

Mr. SCALISE (for himself, Mr. CAO, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. 

FLEMING, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. SESSIONS, 

Mr. BONNER, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. 

SHIMKUS, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. TERRY, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. MELANCON, 

and Mrs. BONO MACK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the New Orleans Saints upon their winning 

Super Bowl XLIV. 

Whereas, on February 7, 2010, in Miami, Florida, the New 

Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts to win 

Super Bowl XLIV; 

Whereas the Saints’ 31–17 victory over the Colts was the 

Saints’ first NFL Championship in franchise history, and 

capped a 16–3 season that included 13 consecutive wins; 

Whereas Saints owner Tom Benson and his family have exhibited a strong commitment to the Saints organization, 

the city of New Orleans, and the State of Louisiana, and 

have assembled an impressive team of coaches, players, 


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and staff that made achieving the Super Bowl victory 

possible; 

Whereas Saints head coach Sean Payton is to be congratulated for leading the Saints to a Super Bowl win in only 

his fourth season as the head coach and for being named 

Sporting News’ 2009 NFL Coach of the Year for the second time in four seasons; 

Whereas the ‘‘Who Dat Nation’’, the greatest group of fans 

in professional sports, is to be honored for proudly standing by its team, never wavering in its support of the New 

Orleans Saints, and making the Louisiana Superdome 

the loudest and most difficult stadium for opposing 

teams; 

Whereas Saints quarterback Drew Brees was named the 

Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl XLIV for his 

record-tying 32 completions out of 39 attempts, 282 

passing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions; 

Whereas Saints cornerback Tracy Porter intercepted a pass 

and returned it 74 yards for a game-clinching touchdown; 

Whereas offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael orchestrated 

an offensive unit, including starters Drew Brees, Reggie 

Bush, Jermon Bushrod, Marques Colston, Jahri Evans, 

Jonathan Goodwin, Devery Henderson, Carl Nicks, Jeremy Shockey, John Stinchcomb, and Pierre Thomas, that 

finished the regular season as the number-one offense in 

the NFL, and also ranked first in points per game, yards 

per game, touchdowns, and total points scored; 

Whereas defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ creativity and 

leadership guided the Saints defense, including starters 

Remi Ayodele, Sedrick Ellis, Scott Fujita, Jabari Greer, 

Roman Harper, Bobby McCray, Tracy Porter, Scott 


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Shanle, Darren Sharper, Will Smith, and Jonathan 

Vilma, that led the team to unprecedented success; 

Whereas Drew Brees finished the 2009 season as the number-one-ranked passer in the NFL with a quarterback 

rating of 109.6; 

Whereas the Saints had seven players, Drew Brees, Jahri 

Evans, Jonathon Goodwin, Roman Harper, Darren 

Sharper, Jonathan Stinchcomb, and Jonathan Vilma, selected to participate in the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl; 

Whereas guard Jahri Evans and safety Darren Sharper were 

named to the Associated Press 2009 NFL All-Pro Team; 

Whereas the Saints organization must be commended for the 

support they have shown to the city and State they call 

home; 

Whereas following Hurricane Katrina, the Saints set up a relief fund that provided much-needed resources to charities around Southeast Louisiana and made a commitment to return to New Orleans after not being able to 

play a single game in the city during the 2005 season; 

Whereas following Hurricane Katrina, the Saints gave the 

people of Southeast Louisiana hope that their way of life 

was slowly returning to normal, and provided a muchneeded boost and distraction from the difficult recovery 

process; 

Whereas Saints owner Tom Benson, his wife Gayle, and his 

granddaughter and Saints owner and Executive Vice 

President Rita Benson-LeBlanc, have dedicated countless 

hours and resources to helping the people of Southeast 

Louisiana; 

Whereas in 2008, the Volunteers of America recognized Tom 

Benson as the recipient of its annual Good Samaritan 


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Award in Philanthropy in recognition of his ‘‘incomparable efforts to rebuild the region following Hurricane 

Katrina’’; 

Whereas the Saints players have become actively engaged in 

the New Orleans area and have forged the strongest bond 

between players and their fans that exists in all of sports; 

Whereas the Saints have galvanized and inspired the people 

of Louisiana and all members of the ‘‘Who Dat Nation’’ 

during their historic championship season; 

Whereas since their founding in 1967 and throughout their 

history, the Saints have been an iconic symbol for the 

people of New Orleans and the Gulf South, exhibiting the 

same commitment and resolve in overcoming adversity 

and achieving success; and 

Whereas the entire Saints franchise has become a model of 

professionalism, goodwill, and community service in representing the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana and brings pride to Saints fans everywhere: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) congratulates— 

3 (A) the New Orleans Saints for winning 

4 Super Bowl XLIV; 

5 (B) the Benson family and the Saints 

6 coaching and support staff, whose commitment 

7 to the Saints organization has sustained this 

8 proud organization and allowed the team to 

9 achieve its first Super Bowl victory; 


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1 (C) all members of the ‘‘Who Dat Nation’’, 

2 whose enthusiasm for the team earns them rec3 ognition as one of the most loyal fan bases in 

4 all sports; 

5 (D) the State of Louisiana, whose commit6 ment to the Saints helped ensure the team’s 

7 success; and 

8 (E) the Indianapolis Colts, led by New Or9 leans-native Peyton Manning, for an out10 standing season; and 

11 (2) directs the Clerk of the House of Represent12 atives to make available enrolled copies of this reso13 lution to the New Orleans Saints for appropriate 

14 display and distribution to the ownership, coaches, 

15 and members of the 2009–2010 New Orleans 

16 Saints. 

Æ 


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