Why the New Orleans Saints' Super Bowl Win Leaves the Door Wide Open For the NFC

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The New Orleans Saints just made history , and even their biggest doubters can't deny that.

But with the given history of teams following a Super Bowl win (or even a loss), should New Orleans suddenly be worried of dropping off the map, or can they get excited about a possible repeat?

More importantly, does a win for their franchise mean that a different NFC team will have a better chance to reach the Super Bowl in 2011? While our fresh minds that saw Drew Brees complete his last 10 passes say no, history says "yes".

First, there is the obvious fact. In the 44 years that the Super Bowl has existed for the NFL, eight teams have won back-to-back Lombardi Trophies, while it has happened in the NFC just three times.

The last time was the Dallas Cowboys winning back-to-back titles in the 1993 and 1994 Super Bowls.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the Saints can't get back, as the Green Bay Packers won in 1997, and then reached the Super Bowl the following year and lost to the Denver Broncos.

Getting there again is possible. However, winning two straight titles just isn't realistic.

True, nothing about this season for the New Orleans Saints has been "realistic", but there is definitely a negative "something" that surrounds every Super Bowl winner in the following seasons after winning it all, and 16 years is a long time to go without having a repeat winner for the NFC.

The big difference between this era (the Saints era) and the days of the Dallas Cowboys? The competition is much more fierce. Teams like the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, and especially the Minnesota Vikings, are all poised to make a strong run at the Saints' crown in 2010.

While there's no "guarantee" that any of those teams make it to next year's Super Bowl, there's a good chance that New Orleans has "had its day in the sun" and could be forced to endure a Super Bowl "hangover" next season.

This odd curse has affected both the winners and losers for the past 16 years, although the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots were able to overcome the curse and reach back-to-back NFL title games (and won) for the AFC.

There is simply too much that goes into putting together a Super Bowl run, that'd it'd be unrealistic to expect the Saints to return to the big game next year.

Quick glances at the New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks, and Carolina Panthers in recent years shows the stifling affect of injuries, free agency, and coaching that can completely change the make-up of a team in just a year's time.

Another interesting aspect (particularly for New Orleans), is that their division (NFC South) has changed hands in every season since its conception in 2002.

Oddly enough, the team to win the NFC South went on to reach the NFC Championship game in five of the last eight seasons.

This simply shows how competitive and strong the NFC South is, furthering the unrealistic chances the Saints have of winning their division for a second consecutive year, let alone earning a return trip to the Super Bowl.

It's always difficult to predict who exactly will make their way to the final game of the NFL season each year, but it's grown increasingly easier to predict who won't .

It's quite obvious that the Saints should remain competitive next year, and until they suffer a loss in the playoffs or are out of playoff contention, they will remain favorites to defend their title.

But for the members of the 2010 NFC playoffs, as well as other hopefuls such as the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, and New York Giants, their goal of reaching next year's Super Bowl, at least from a historical stand-point, just got a whole lot easier.

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