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Super Brees and Saints part of Hurricane Katrina rebuilding
Hurricane Katrina was the worst thing to ever happen to the city of New Orleans. Yet it if didn’t occur, the city’s pro football team might not still be around.
A little more than four-plus years after the devastating hurricane ravaged large parts of Louisiana, the New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl champions for the first time in their less-than-spectacular 43-season history.
Prior to this postseason, the Saints had won a total of two playoff games. They won three in a row this season, winning the Super Bowl with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Just imagine the celebrations on Bourbon Street in the hours following Sunday’s victory as a city that has gone through so much – more than any U.S. city ever should – can go crazy like never before.
So much for Mardi Gras being nine days away.
But first flash back to September of 2005 as Hurricane Katrina blew into town and overflowing Lake Pontchartrain sent water throughout the city. Think back to the images of people waiting on their rooftops to be rescued and how numerous people left homeless were living in terrible conditions inside the Louisiana Superdome, the Saints’ stadium.
Things are sure a lot different now when it comes to how the city of New Orleans feels about itself.
Prior to Hurricane Katrina, there was a very real possibility of the Saints bolting town, possibly to Los Angeles or anywhere else where owner Tom Benson was wooed by a large amount of cash. Benson threatened to move the team on more than one occasion before Katrina hit when there were conflicts between the team and Louisiana officials.
After Hurricane Katrina hit, the Saints spent the 2005 season in San Antonio and there were many reports circulating that Benson was leaning toward permanently keeping the franchise there. But NFL officials and countless others were applying pressure and there was no way to easily bail on the city of New Orleans during such catastrophic times.
So the Saints went back to New Orleans and Sean Payton came aboard as coach. The San Diego Chargers let Drew Brees leave via free agency and the Saints landed Brees after the Miami Dolphins opted for Daunte Culpepper over Brees.
Talk about good luck. Brees has become a superstar with the Saints and he and wife Brittany have done yeoman work in the community to help rebuild New Orleans. Call him Hurricane Brees if you please because without Brees blowing into town, the Saints aren’t world champions today.
You surely don’t think New Orleans would have ever won something big with Aaron Brooks at quarterback, do you?
Brees was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLIV after completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He threw the go-ahead 2-yard scoring pass to Jeremy Shockey with 5:42 to play and the Saints put a stranglehold on their first-ever title when Tracy Porter intercepted Peyton Manning and returned the pick 74 yards to give the Saints a two-touchdown lead with 3:12 remaining.
You might recall that it was Porter who also had the big interception in the NFC Championship Game two weeks earlier, when he picked off Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in the final seconds of regulation in the contest New Orleans won in overtime.
But the Saints are Brees’ team and the guy that wasn’t a championship quarterback in the eyes of Chargers general manager A.J. Smith now has won one more Super Bowl title than his former franchise. And think, all the Chargers got for Brees was a compensation draft pick used on linebacker Anthony Waters, who played in just seven games during two very forgettable seasons with the team.
Brees, of course, got the last laugh of that situation and has become the football symbol of revitalization in New Orleans. He often talks about it being destiny that he ended up in New Orleans needing to restart his career after major shoulder surgery at the same time the city was starting its rebuilding process from Katrina.
Now there’s nobody more popular in New Orleans than Brees. Saints’ fans have nicknamed him “Breesus” and he’ll be serving as the prestigious King of Bracchus at one of the parades leading up to Mardi Gras. Some of the past Kings of Bracchus include celebrities like Bob Hope, Charlton Heston, Dick Clark and Hulk Hogan.
Yes, life in New Orleans is going just “Super” for Drew Brees, one of the truly good guys of the NFL. And it’s also “Super” for the post-Hurricane Katrina version of the Saints. Instead of the team being located in some other city that doesn’t share Louisiana’s deep love for the Saints, the franchise is right where it belongs.
And now there’s a Super Bowl trophy to go with it for the good folks of New Orleans.