Super Bowl XLIV

Super Bowl XLIV was the 44th Super Bowl game that was played on February 7, 2010, pitting the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts against the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New Orleans Saints. The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 31-17, earning their first Super Bowl win. The venue was the Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and the game's kickoff took place at 6:28 p.m. EST (23:28 UTC) on February 7, 2010, the latest calendar date for a Super Bowl yet. The game features the Saints' first Super Bowl appearance since their founding in 1967, while it is the fourth time a Colts franchise team has appeared, since their founding in 1953 as the Baltimore Colts. In their three previous Super Bowl appearances, all also in Miami, the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts have lost once in 1969 and won twice in 1971 and 2007.

The Saints entered the game with a 13-3 record for the 2009 regular season, compared to the Colts' 14-2 record. In the playoff games, both teams had a 1st round bye. The Colts entered the Super Bowl off of 20–3 and 30–17 victories, while the Saints advanced with scores of 45–14 and 31–28 (in overtime), defeating last year's runners up the Arizona Cardinals in their first game. The Pittsburgh Steelers, as defending champions, failed to make the playoffs based on tiebreakers. It was the first time since Super Bowl XXVIII (16 years previously) that both number one seeds have reached the Super Bowl. The Saints' head coach was Sean Payton, having joined from the Dallas Cowboys in 2006, while his opposing head coach Jim Caldwell was appointed the Colts head coach in 2009 having joined them in 2002 as assistant head coach.

It was the tenth time the Super Bowl has been held in Miami at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins: four previous games have been played in the Sun Life Stadium, and five were played in the Dolphins' now demolished former home, the Miami Orange Bowl. Per convention as an even numbered Super Bowl, the Colts as the AFC representatives have the home team designation, wearing blue jerseys with white pants, while the Saints (who wore their white jerseys in several home games this year) will wear white jerseys with gold pants. The game was broadcast live on CBS, and the halftime show featured the English rock band The Who.