Formerly unbeaten Saints and Colts to meet in Miami

Five years after New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, leaving the New Orleans Saints without a stadium and with an uncertain future, the team will be attending its first Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLIV will be held on Feb. 7 in Miami’s Sun Life Stadium. The New Orleans Saints will be taking on the Indianapolis Colts.

The New Orleans Saints entered the National Football Conference playoffs with a 13-3 regular season record. After beating the Arizona Cardinals 45-14 in the divisional playoffs, it all came down to the NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings. After a 40-yard field goal by Saints’ kicker Garrett Hartley, the game ended in overtime. The Saints won 31-28.

The Indianapolis Colts ended their regular season in the American Football Conference with a 14-2 record. By beating the Baltimore Ravens 20-3, the Colts landed themselves a spot in the AFC Championship against the New York Jets.

At the end of the first half, the Colts trailed by five but came back, scoring 17 points in the second half and winning the game 30-17.

More than half of Indianapolis’ points were scored by quarterback Peyton Manning’s three touchdown throws. The Colts are going to the Super Bowl for the second time in four years and for the fourth time in franchise history. The Colts’ last Super Bowl appearance was in 2007, when they beat the Chicago Bears.

As for this year’s halftime show, legendary rock band The Who will be performing. According to an interview by Billboard with The Who’s Pete Townshend, the halftime performance “will feature a ‘compact medley’ of their signature classic-rock anthems.” The Who consists of original guitarist and principal songwriter Pete Townshend and founding member and singer Roger Daltrey. Townshend and Dalrey also have solo careers apart from The Who.

Like the halftime show, commercials are another beloved part of the Super Bowl. CNNMoney.com provides a preview of this year’s ads that will be played during the Super Bowl broadcast.

Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, will have the most commercial time this year during the Super Bowl, with a total of five minutes of advertising.

Frito-Lay took a new approach this year by creating a contest for consumers to create and submit their own commercials. The winning ad will air during the Super Bowl.

Also, Dr. Pepper will be making its first Super Bowl appearance this year with its “Calling Dr. Love” ads featuring Gene Simmons.

One commercial that has already gained some attention is an ad for Focus on the Family. This Christian and anti-abortion group says its controversial ad is about the “issue of life” and will feature Heisman Trophy winner and former Florida Gator quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother.

CBS has recently come under fire for allowing the anti-abortion commercial to air, while recently rejecting a controversial advertisement from a gay dating site called ManCrunch.The advertisement took a humorous route in featuring two men touching hands and kissing.

The New York Times reported that ManCruch’s advertisement was rejected because CBS deemed it inappropriate for prime time.

Other companies that paid up to $3 million to advertise during one of America’s most watched television programs include Volkswagen, Denny’s and Boost Mobile.

The Super Bowl will air on CBS at 6 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Central.