In a city that has struggled in both the world of
sports and in day-to-day life, Drew Brees has brought a smile to the faces of
the New Orleans residents.
The party will be rocking for the next few days in the Big Easy and Brees will
be the guest of honor as his performance in Super Bowl XLIV garnered him the
Most Valuable Player award.
With Mardi Gras less than 10 days away, New Orleans doesn't need any excuse
for a good time, but Sunday's 31-17 win over Indianapolis and Brees' MVP award
gives the city even more of an excuse and helps to further erase the memories
of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster that destroyed much of the city and
even damaged the Superdome where the Saints play.
Moreover, it gives a franchise that was once known as the 'Aints and whose
fans wore brown paper bags over their heads a chance to lift those heads high.
"We played for so much more than just ourselves," Brees said. "We played for
our city, we played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for all the
entire Who Dat? nation who was behind us every step of the way. We've been
blessed with so much and just to have this opportunity is unbelievable."
On the game-winning drive, Brees went 7-for-7 for 44 yards with a two-yard
strike to Jeremy Shockey followed by a two-point conversion toss to Lance
Moore giving the team a 24-17 lead with 5:42 to play.
Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return for a touchdown on the Colts'
ensuing touch sealed the win.
For the game, Brees went 32-for-39 with 288 yards and two touchdowns with a
114.5 quarterback rating. His 32 completions tied a Super Bowl record.
On his other touchdown pass, it was a 16-yard short screen pass to Pierre
Thomas that gave the Saints a 13-10 lead early in the third quarter after the
team opted for an onsides kick, which they recovered, to start the second
half.
The game featured two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Brees and Peyton
Manning, who is a four-time league MVP and won the MVP in a Super Bowl XLI
victory over Chicago.
However, it was Brees who was flawless in this game as he never turned over
the ball and Manning's late interception doomed any chances of the Colts
winning the Super Bowl for the second time in the past four years.
Originally a second-round pick of San Diego in the 2001 draft, Brees spent his
first five seasons with the Chargers and had productive years, but after the
2005 season he refused a contract offer by the Chargers and opted to sign with
New Orleans.
"I felt like coming to New Orleans was a calling and that God puts you in
positions for a reason," Brees said. "At the time you may ask yourself, 'I'm
not sure, but I trust you.' I know that me coming to New Orleans and having an
opportunity there was definitely a calling and it was an opportunity not many
people get in their entire life to be able to come to a city like that that
had just been devastated by a natural disaster."
Since then he has exploded in the bayou as he has thrown for over 4,300 yards
and 26 touchdowns in each of his four seasons with New Orleans. In 2008, he
had a 5,069-yard performance with 34 touchdowns, garnering the Offensive
Player of the Year award.
"Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening," Brees said. "When
85 percent of the city was under water, all of its residents evacuated to
places all over the country, most people not knowing New Orleans would ever
come back or if the organization as a team would ever come back."
This past season he guided the team to wins in the first 13 games and the
Saints finished with a 13-3 record as he threw for 4,388 yards and 34
touchdowns.
He then went on to lead the Saints to a 45-14 pasting of Arizona in the
divisional round of the NFC playoffs and a 31-28 overtime win over the Brett
Favre-led Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game.
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