Now that was a good Super Bowl.

In fact, it was the third really good Super Bowl in as many years and continues a trend of having more good NFL title deciders than complete stinkers.

It wasn't always like that, with the 80s and 90s marred by series of one-sided clashes, but this was close, entertaining and came with a fairytale finish.

Anytime you have less than a touchdown between the teams with under five minutes to play, there's no cause for complaint. A comparison would be an AFL Grand Final, with less than two goals the margin once you hit time-on in the final quarter.

While Saints quarterback Drew Brees was outstanding and a most deserving MVP, the game turned on two brilliant, but ballsy coaching moves from New Orleans coach Sean Payton.

The first was the successful onside kick to start the second half. It kept Colts quarterback Peyton Manning off the field for another few minutes and also meant that Colts defensive lineman Dwight Freeney, who was playing on a bum ankle, had to return to the field sooner than hoped.

The second great call was to challenge the ruling that denied the Saints a two-point conversion in the final quarter. Had Payton got it wrong, New Orleans would have been docked a precious time-out, but the referee overturned the call, giving the Saints a seven-point lead.

The lead-up to this Super Bowl was full of the usual drivel about the standing in the game of some of its participants. In this instance, the question was whether Peyton Manning is the greatest quarterback of all time. He might be the best at the moment, but the ill-advised throw in the final quarter that was intercepted for a touchdown will haunt him for a long time.

It's a bit rich to consider Manning an all-time great QB when contemporaries Tom Brady (three) and Ben Roethlisberger (two) boast more Super Bowl rings. Even his kid brother Eli has a Super Bowl ring of his own. Manning's playoff record for the Colts is 9-9, so let's put that debate on ice for the time being.

And many are already noting the irony that as a kid, Manning would have dreamt repeatedly of launching the pass that would ensure a Super Bowl win for his then beloved Saints.

It will be a mixed time in the Manning household. Father Archie was a star QB of the Saints through the dark days of the 1970s and Manning family are as close to royalty as New Orleans has. Older brother Cooper is one of Drew Brees' closest friends.

Surely Hollywood will take the story of the Saints and turn it into a film. Hurricane Katrina almost killed the city and in the aftermath, team owner Tom Benson wanted to move the Saints because he didn't think the struggling city could afford to support his team.

Now they are champions and there has never been a more popular winner. Let the casting for the movie begin, with Luke Wilson playing the part of Brees.

The Channel 10 telecast went well enough, although they almost missed the critical onside kick because they were showing Superbowl commercials. And they talked over Benson's victory speech, which smacked of Channel Seven ending its AFL Grand Final telecast in 2008 midway through the Hawthorn players singing the song.