03/15/2021
What a career Drew. You will be missed!
Inspite of all of the politics that seem to be so deeply ingrained in NFL Football these days, I felt it necessary to take a second to reflect on this man, his career, and the impact he made in the lives of so many.
The year was 2005. Katrina and Rita had devastated the New Orleans area and left so many people wondering what was next. My story is similar to so many others. Left feeling lost, displaced in a small town in nowhere Georgia, wondering what was next, and ultimately wondering how things could ever be ok again. The only solace I had at the time that made things feel even remotely normal was Saints football on Sundays. See, growing up with my grandfather Saints games were right up there with his Sunday Mass. Watching these games, good or bad, made me feel like we were still close. That was a tough year for the team as they finished 2-14 and earned the second overall pick in the draft. The season ended with the firing of then Head Coach Jim Haslett and the release of Quarterback Aaron Brooks.
I remember sitting and wondering what could possibly be next for the team. There was rampant speculation that we would be selecting Matt Leinart with the second pick in 2006. Thankfully that didn't come to pass. Why? Because that same year an undervalued and overlooked young man was un-ceremonially cut by his former team. That man was a 6' tall Quarterback named Drew Brees. He, much like the city of New Orleans, was hurting and looking to rebuild his life. The cards fell into place for the Saints to sign Head Coach Sean Payton who convinced Drew that they was where he needed to he and that they would build a winner together. Man...they did so much more than that.
I watched the first game back in the Super Dome. Home opener against the Atlanta Falcons. We won! Not only did the team win, with some heroics by fellow local legend Steve Gleason, but the city won! That moment when the final whistle blew and the game was over a feeling of hope hit me for the first time in what felt like forever. That team made it all the way to the NFC Championship game for the first time in team history, but it was only the beginning.
Skip ahead almost 2 years. Its August of 2008 almost 3 year to the day that Katrina and Rita hit. We buried my grandfather that month. See, what I didn't mention earlier, was he always used to say with a little disdain "The year I die is the year this damn team wins the Superbowl!" Well...he wasnt far off. The 2009 season kicked off in September of 09. That team had something magical from the get go. 13 straight wins to go 13-3 and FINALLY get to the Superbowl! My dad was deployed waiting to head to Afghanistan at the time, my son Liam wasn't even a moth old yet, and I wasn't married. Then it came. February 7, 2010. Superbowl XLIV was here. I watched my guys take on and defeat New Orleans own son Peyton Manning. My mom, my dad on Skype, and myself were all brought to the point of shedding a tear.
There he was. That 6' tall guy that so many people had doubted. Said he could never make it. Said he would never be able to play again. He was holding the Lombardi Trophy, but that moment wasn't the one that truly stuck out. It was when he held his son through the falling confetti. The joy in his eyes. Flash forward, the team hasn't been back to a title game, and that does suck in it's own right, but in that time Drew gave everything of himself to the people of New Orleans. He help anyone he could and left an example to follow everywhere he went of what it meant to truly give and be selfless.
For 15 years now I've rooted for this guy. The all time NFL leader in completions, completion percentage, and yards. Those accolades are amazing, but they dont do justice to him or what he stands for in the eyes of so many people like myself. You sir, changed a city, a population, and gave us all a reason to hope again. I wish you luck in the future, and though you leave massive shoes to fill, I know you're leaving them better than you found them.
