The chant started the day he got drafted, and continued seemingly every time Reggie Bush stepped onto the field for the Saints. Some of those times the chants preceded or followed something that only Reggie can do (think the Minnesota game where Bush returned a pair of punts for touchdowns).
Reggie. Reggie. Reggie.
Mainly the chant has traditionally been done as sort of a greeting Saints fans do when Bush lines up to receive punts.
Saturday evening in the Louisiana Superdome, the Reggie chant became something much, much more as 70 thousand plus Who Dats showered the player with praise, appreciation, and adoration.
The Saints as a whole erased the seeds of doubt that had been growing by thoroughly hammering the Arizona Cardinals 45-14. New Orleans now advances to the NFC Championship game for only the second time in franchise history, and will host it for the first time in team history next Sunday at 5:40 pm inside the Superdome.
Bush set the tone for the game by play arguably his best game as a professional. In fact at times Saturday, it seemed as if you were watching old USC highlights, as Bush ran through, around, bounced off of, and then simply out ran Cardinals defenders.
Led onto the field by running back Deuce McAllister, the team’s all time leading rusher handed a black bat that had “bring the wood” inscribed on it to Bush. The Heisman winner did just that setting the tone for the team early with tough runs that brought the crowd to their feet, especially on a 46 yard run where he bounced of a tackler than accelerated past the Cardinals defense for a touchdown. A 83- yard punt return where Bush wasn’t even touched put a close on a memorable performance. Bush had 217 all-purpose yards and joined Charlie Trippi (1947 NFL Championship) as the only players in postseason history with rushing and punt return TDs in the same game.
The Saints offense found the “on” switch that’s for sure putting up 418 yards. Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 247 yards, going 23 of 32, to go with three touchdowns. Tight end Jeremy Shockey, dinged up on the play mind you, caught a 17 yard strike to make it 14-7 Saints. Receiver Devery Henderson caught a 44 yard pass for a touchdown on a play that started out as a flea-flicker to make it 28-14 at the time. A few minutes later receiver Marques Colston caught a 2 yard touchdown pass to make 35-14 at the half.
The 21 points scored by New Orleans in the first quarter was the most it has scored in any postseason quarter.
Let’s also give credit to the Saints defense. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was never comfortable in the game. Warner, who was dinged up towards the end of the second quarter, was 17 of 26 for 205 yards to with an interception and zero touchdowns. Tim Hightower’s opening play, 87-yard touchdown run, was the highlight of the day for the Cardinals offense. The Saints defense held Arizona, other than that play, to just 14 yards on the ground.
Safety Darren Sharper also had a fumble recovery thanks to a Randall Gay strip. Defensive end Will Smith had an interception for the second Arizona turnover of the day.
The impressive win has the team four quarters away from their first ever Super Bowl. Saints fans now await the winner of Sunday’s matchup between the Cowboys and Vikings in Minnesota.
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