What were Payton's instructions to Hartley as he sent him in to kick? "I just told him there's a little fleur de lis up there right between both uprights, and I said why don't you see if you can hit this fleur de lis dead center. We belong. You are here for a reason and you are going to hit it through.  He has been real consistent for us and it was a big kick."

Reggie Bush muffed a punt that the Vikings recovered. "I knew their punter was going to hit it deep and there wasn't going to be too many balls that we're going to be returned. I felt  like on that punt when I saw him hit it I thought he shortchanged it and I guess one of their guys  down the field fast enough disrupted me catching the ball and once I caught it I thought I saw room and had space to make a move, but I didn't. It was such a gut-wrenching feeling when it happens. I don't care what game you're playing in even if its preseason. It's still a gut-wrenching feeling."

Bush isn't just running for next year's contract in the playoffs, he's also trying to pocket some extra cash for this season. He will make $1 million more in bonus money if the Saints win the Super Bowl ($500,000 each for the NFC title game and Super Bowl).Bush already pocketed $300,000 for the win over Arizona.

New Orleans now is throwing a two-week party all on behalf of their beloved Saints going to their first Super bowl in the 43-year history of the franchise. Mardi Gras might be a bit of a letdown this year.

This victory was for the fans, hardened by years of aggravation and frustrations and desperation, cautiously embracing optimism during your life as a fan.

This is for you, who used to freeze in the winter and sweat in the preseason at old Tulane Stadium when you kept believing  you would see a day like Sunday, even in the eras when believing that way was hazardous to your health.

This is for Deuce McAllister, retired all-time team rusher, always a beacon of excellence, and for Billy Kilmer, Bobby Hebert, Archie Manning and Doug Atkins.

This is for all the awful days and brutal nights that seemed to overrun the time since then. the “Hail Mary’s”  that beat us, the missed field goals,  the poor coaching decisions, and the threat of Tom Benson moving the franchise to San Antonio.

This is for you. Enjoy the hell out of it, No matter what.

Quoting the Saints and Vikings:

Sean Payton

( on the game): "It's hard to talk about the significance of that group of guys in the locker room and the significance of this win. I'm proud of them, I'm proud of our fans.  I'm proud of the hard work it took to get us to this spot. It's a pretty special feeling.

(on fourth down call in OT):  "I'm trying to think if that call, did we go for it? We weren't close enough for a field goal. We called everyone over and said, 'hey, look we've come this far.' Pierre Thomas ran behind those two guys and did a great job of getting the yard and a half we needed,"

(on the takeaways) :I know this,  we came up with the turnover margin pretty significantly, I think five-to-one, so credit Minnesota at five-to-one and we win by a field goal. That's unusual.

(on Pierre Thomas) :He played hard. He battled. The screen play early in the game to answer their touchdown was significant when they went up 7-0. It was kind of like last week. He made a bunch of big plays. He's been a big part of what we've done so I'm happy with the way he played."

(on playing the Colts and Peyton Manning) "He's a special player. We had a chance to watch some of his game today. The four best teams played today, and the first half of that game, we saw two AFC teams playing their hearts out. It's a credit to Indianapolis and Peyton. It's been a while since the No. 1 seeds met and we are excited to be in this game and look forward to it,"

Vikings coach Brad Childress: "They fought themselves back into it. When you play a team of this stature and turn the ball over five times it makes it hard. To be able get  it back to where  we got it back is a testament to these guys,

(on Brett Favre) "It was a gutty performance. He grinded it out, He did a nice job of competing. He would be the first to tell you that he wishes he had a couple of those throws back."

Cornerback Jabari Greer, on how it feels going to the Super Bowl: We've put a lot of hard work since the beginning of the season. It has been our goal and to see it unfold is happiness.  It's really gratify with all the hard work that we have put in."

Cornerback Tracy Porter, on causing the fumble:" These guys have a habit of fighting for extra yards when they catch the ball. The ball is going to be out there. I knew he was going to try to break the tackle and I just punched it out."

Defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove, on how far he has come in a year: "This is a story that people need to hear. You just put it together one day at a time. A year ago I was sitting and praying that someone would give me an opportunity. Now, I'm sitting here an NFC champion. I have a journal at home and I am going to look at today's date a year ago and see where I was. I don't really know what to say right now. It's fairytale. I don't want to wake up. I have one more game to go though."

Wide receiver Devery Henderson, on his TD catch: "I have the option to run that route if he gets into trouble. We practice it all of the time. Brees tells me to stay alive. It came open and I saw it, I broke the route out." On what it means to be in the Super Bowl: "It feels great and its' a blessing  We've worked for it. We put together a good team. We stuck together and got there,"

Tackle Jon Stinchcomb, on how far the Saints have come since Katrina: "We really hit rock bottom that year. This whole city went through a lot. It has been a long road. We all came together as a city and a team. Heading to Miami shows how far we've come."

Defensive end Will Smith, on pressuring Favre: "We got to hit him a lot. We thought that if we hit him a lot that he would start making mistakes. A couple of balls that he threw should have been intercepted, but we dropped them. We just wanted to keep coming after him and keep hitting him. We tried to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible He got hurt and wasn't able to move like he did in the first half" 

Key plays:

Vikings take 7-0 lead on a 19-yard run by Adrian Peterson.
The Saints tied it up at 7 when Pierre Thomas took a screen pass from Drew Brees 38 yards for a touchdown.
Brett Favre threw a 5-yard TD pass to Sidney Rice to give the Vikings a 14-7 lead.
Brees threw a 9-yard TD pass to Devery Henderson to even it at 14.
Thomas ran in a 9-yard TD to give the Saints their first lead at 21-14.
Peterson evened the score at 21 on a 1-yard run.
Brees hit Reggie Bush on a 5-yard TD pass to make the Saints lead 28-21.
Peterson scored from 1-yard to make to tie it  at 28..
Garnett Hartley hit a 40-yard field goal in overtime to give the Saints a 31-29 victory.

TICKETS INFO: Super Bowl Ticket lottery procedures for season ticket holders will be announced at 3 p.m. on Monday, All Super Bowl tickets begin at $800 per ticket.