Colts' celebration has lasting effect
''Coach Dungy and I had a pretty cool moment [Monday morning],'' Manning said. ''I'm talking to a buddy of mine, and [Dungy] hands me the phone and he says, 'You need to take this call.' And I was like, 'I'm on the phone here.' He said, 'No, you need to take this call.' I hung up, and it's the president.
''He was talking about what a great win it was and playing in those tough [weather] conditions. He watched the entire game. He said he was pulling for us and looked forward to welcoming us to the White House. I look forward to that, as well.''
So while the Bears had Barack Obama in their corner, the Colts had George W. Bush. More important, they had Manning, the MVP who completed 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown.
Dungy praised his defense's effort, especially a span of 26 minutes during which the Bears didn't get a first down after taking a 14-6 lead.
''It was big,'' Dungy said. ''After they got that momentum with the kickoff return, we couldn't afford another lapse. We needed the defense at that point, and they really came through.''
The Colts dominated the time of possession as Rex Grossman and the Bears' offense struggled.
''We had one play, [Thomas Jones'] 52-yard run that got out,'' Dungy said. ''But other than that, they really didn't move the ball against us.
''We had a good deal of confidence going, and the defense realized, too, with the weather conditions, we had to help jump-start the offense.''
Indianapolis celebrated with a parade Monday in 8-degree weather. An estimated 40,000 fans welcomed the team inside the RCA Dome at the post-parade rally.
''We gave it a good run until about 4:30 [Monday] morning,'' Manning said. ''Got back to the room, and then, of course, I had to pop on the highlights and pop on the NFL Network and see all what happened during the game.
''I saw some things I didn't even know happened during the game. Just how close Kelvin Hayden's foot was to going out of bounds [on an interception returned for a touchdown].''
Dungy savored the historical significance of becoming the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl.
''One guy asked me ... how did I think I compared to Jackie Robinson, and it really kind of floored me,'' he said. ''But when I stopped to think about the magnitude of the moment and Super Bowls and how difficult it is ... it's a valid question.
''I certainly don't think I've done anything as difficult as Jackie Robinson did or anything that would even be in that light. But it's a very, very proud moment.''
Dungy also threw a bouquet at the Bears.
''I have a tremendous amount of respect for them,'' he said. ''But it was a lot of fun seeing us come through and doing what we had to do to win the game and go back to Indianapolis and share with our families and fans and friends.''