(My Sportsbook) - By the time Super Bowl XLIV finally kicks off, essentially the entire free world will be fully aware that Peyton Manning was born and raised in the city of New Orleans, and that his father happens to be one of the most recognizable and beloved players to ever don a uniform for the team the Indianapolis Colts quarterback will be facing for the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy.

While that angle will be mercilessly hammered into our collective heads in the days leading up to this year's Big Game, this Super Bowl really isn't about Manning standing in the way of his hometown Saints' quest for a long-awaited first-ever world championship.

More than anything, Super Bowl XLIV presents the opportunity for one of the NFL's all-time great quarterbacks to unequivocally cement his place alongside the immortals at the game's premier position.

In reality, Manning has nothing left to prove in a 12-year career that will one day most certainly earn him a bronze bust in Canton. He's already won a Super Bowl, having guided the Colts to a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears three years ago on the same Sun Life Stadium field in Miami that Indianapolis will oppose the Saints. He garnered an unprecedented fourth NFL MVP Award in 2009 after amassing a 10th season of over 4,000 passing yards, also more than any player in league history.

There's no debate over whether Manning has been among the best regular-season field generals the NFL has ever seen. Yet even after taking a somewhat-flawed Indianapolis team to a second Super Bowl in four years, the 33-year-old still hasn't been able to completely slay all the postseason demons that have haunted him throughout his remarkable tenure.

Those remaining critics are quick to point out Manning's 9-8 playoff record as a starting quarterback and a rather ordinary 27-to-18 touchdown-to-interception ratio in those games. They'll just as quickly spout off about the multiple Super Bowl titles won by his Hall of Fame counterparts, a list that includes such hallowed names as Montana, Bradshaw, Aikman, Elway and Starr.

Tom Brady, the active player most often compared to Manning, has led the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl triumphs despite entering the league two years after his rival. Ben Roethlisberger has brought home two Lombardi Trophies in only six seasons as a professional. While winning one is surely no small feat, it's still the same amount produced by the likes of Trent Dilfer, Mark Rypien and Brad Johnson -- quarterbacks not normally mentioned in the same breath as Manning. Whether fair or not, those are the cold, hard facts.

Even Manning's MVP performance against the Bears -- a solid 247 yards on 25- of-38 passing with one touchdown and an interception -- isn't considered up to legendary standards by that hard-to-please army of detractors.

That group is beginning to get smaller and smaller, however, and Manning likely made himself a few more converts with his sensational showing in Indianapolis' besting of the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game on January 24. The 10-time Pro Bowl honoree took apart the league's top-ranked pass defense in the 30-17 decision, racking up 377 yards and three touchdowns in skillfully bringing the Colts back from an early 11-point deficit.

It was an outing much like he delivered all throughout his latest MVP campaign, in which Manning threw for 4,500 yards and completed a career-best 68.8 percent of his throws. The cerebral signal-caller's 33 touchdown passes during the regular season were just one shy of the league lead set by the man he'll battle on Super Bowl Sunday, New Orleans' Drew Brees.

"You think that he may level out, but he never does," Colts head coach Jim Caldwell recently told the team's official site. "He never gets complacent. Every year it seems like he takes it to another plateau."

That trademark focus will come in handy for Manning in a matchup that will obviously have an attachment of sentimentality to it. Not only did one of New Orleans' favorite sons grow up a Saints fan, he remains active in the community and took a heavy role in the relief effort when the city was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Archie Manning, Peyton's father, quarterbacked the Saints from 1971-82 and still holds the franchise record for career passing yards. He also served as the team's radio color commentator for over a decade following his playing days and continues to have a close relationship with the organization.

"I'm very excited for the city of New Orleans," said Peyton Manning about the Saints' march to the Super Bowl. "New Orleans is definitely a huge part of my life, and my dad's been a part of the New Orleans Saints organization for 39 years. We definitely have strong ties."

It's a strange twist of fate that one of New Orleans' hometown heroes will be trying to prevent the long-suffering Saints from capturing the NFL's ultimate prize. That's almost as ironic as Manning finding himself in an eerily similar scenario as he did in Miami three years ago -- playing in a game that will forever define his legacy as a quarterback.