44 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
plifies outstanding character and leadership in the
home,” then got arrested for solicitation that night.
(Charges were later dropped.) Robinson gave up
the award—and also an 80-yard touchdown pass
to Broncos receiver Rod Smith, in the last game
of quarterback John Elway’s career.
Joe Robbie Stadium had become Pro Player Sta-
dium, and landing a Super Bowl had become more
competitive. Miami got one in 2007 (XLI: Peyton
Manning’s first ring, the first featuring two
African-American coaches, Prince singing “Purple
Rain” in the rain) and again in ’10 (XLIV: the
Saints’ first win, with Sean Payton’s gutsy onside
kick against the Colts to open the second half).
The Super Bowl would not return to Miami
until 2020. The NFL is too big to keep going back
to the same city these days. The league can now
go wherever it wants, and it wants to go where
the money is. Build a stadium, get a Super Bowl.
That’s the formula Robbie created.
The game is back in South Florida because cur-
rent Dolphins owner Steve Ross plunked down
almost half a billion dollars to renovate... wait,
hang on... we’ll find it... here it is: Hard Rock
Stadium. It’s not technically in Miami but in Miami
Gardens. It’s nothing like the old Orange Bowl.
Playing the Super Bowl there is both a nod to
the league’s roots and an acknowledgment of the
game’s growth. The stadium is hosting the Super
Bowl because of Ross’s money. But Miami deserves
the Super Bowl because it is, and always will be,
a great Super Bowl host. We guarantee it. ±
SUPER BOWL XLIV
SAINTS 31, COLTS 17
Feb. 7, 2010
Miami giveth,
Miami taketh away.
This time Peyton
Manning lost the
game and passed the
torch to the Saints’
Drew Brees ( left,
with son Baylen and
wife Brittany). The
game was initially
set to be played in
New York. That plan
blew up when the Jets’
deal for a stadium
in Manhattan
fell through.
DAVID BERGM
AN
MIAMI HOSTED THE SAINTS’ FIRST AND
ONLY WIN, WITH SEAN PAYTON’S GUTSY
ONSIDE KICK TO OPEN THE SECOND HALF.
