In one of the most daring moments in Super Bowl history, the New Orleans Saints opted for an onside kick to start the game’s second half.
Chris Reis, a Georgia Tech defensive star in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, knew the ball could be coming his way. A special teams player for the Saints, Reis was on the kickoff coverage team, which had been practicing onside kicks for weeks.
Rookie kicker Thomas Morstead knocked the ball to his left, and it caromed off the chest of Colts player Hank Baskett and straight at Reis.
“We knew Thomas was going to kick a great ball,” Reis said. “But nothing goes exactly as you plan it. We didn’t know if I was going to get it, if Roman Harper was going to get it.
“It bounced off [Baskett], and it was coming real fast for me. I just threw my hands up and turned to slow it down. It fell beneath me, and I pulled it up right at the end and kept fighting for it.”
At that point, nearly every Colts and Saints player dove into the scrum for the ball. The players jostled for more than a minute — with Reis at the bottom of the pile.
“It’s not fun,” Reis said of being in a dog pile, “but when you know you have an opportunity to do something great and this play is going to set the tone, I knew I wasn’t going to let it slip out of my hands. It felt like forever for me.”
Finally the referees pulled all of the players up, leaving Reis alone with the ball. The Saints took possession, and the daring play served as a turning point in the team’s upset victory.
“Watching the play on TV later, I saw my teammates pulling people off of the pile,” Reis said. “That’s why we won the Super Bowl, we’re that kind of team.”
Reis said he couldn’t put into words the feeling of being a Super Bowl champion. After the win, he was back in New Orleans for the championship parade, which saw 800,000 fans turning out to cheer the team.
“People were just saying, ‘Thank you, thank you,’” Reis said. “It was amazing. It’s inspiring. It’s bigger than just a game.”
A restricted free agent, Reis said he was in the midst of finalizing a new contract with the Saints. He said he loves the team, the city and teammates too much to consider leaving.
After returning from a vacation in Hawaii, Reis started preparing for next season.
“You never just want to be a champion once,” he said. “To be great you have to prove it over and over again.”
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