Arial Ace

His first game as a member of the New Orleans Saints was on September 25th 2006; the Saints first home game since the Louisiana Superdome, their home, had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. After the imperfect storm demolished the gulf coast and left thousands in New Orleans without homes, food, or water, the re-opening of the Superdome had far greater meaning than just a franchise's attempt to rebound from a 3-13 season the year before. That game against the rival Atlanta Falcons embodied the resilient spirit of the people of New Orleans, and their determination to stand together no matter what adversity came before them. And in the previous off-season, the Saints organization signed a quarterback to be the man to lead them through an emotion packed regular season. He was too undersized to be a first round draft pick. His arm was not strong enough to make all of the deep throws. And too many questions surrounded his torn labrum that was sustained in his final season with the San Diego Chargers.

All of the adversity that surrounded Drew Brees made him the perfect man to be the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints in 2006. Drew Brees did not throw a touchdown pass in the Saints 23-3 thumping of the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, but he helped bring something far greater to the Saints fan base than just accolades; Drew Brees brought the gift of hope to a franchise encased in mediocrity throughout it's existence. 

There were plenty of similarities between last night's game and Brees' first game as a New Orleans Saint. The field was the same, the opposing team was the same, the stage was the same, and the final result was the same as the regular season opener in 2006; yet the feel from last nights game was completely different than Brees' first game on his new team. The game in 06 had a sense of team unity throughout the stands, while last night's game had vibrant sense of anticipation focused on one player. Five years ago marked Drew Brees' first home victory as quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, last night marked the day when a 27 year old record fell in the big easy.


December 26, 2011 will forever be remembered as the game when Drew Brees broke Dan Marino's record for most passing yards in a single season.

The stats from Brees' game had Saints fans beaming, as usual. Brees completed 23 out of his 39 passes with four touchdowns and two interceptions, and 307 passing yards on a night in which he needed 305 to surpass Marino's mark. There were a few throws in which Brees pressed a bit, being slightly more aggressive and a hair less efficient than Saints fans were used to. But at the end of the night, those few throws did not matter. And with 2 minutes and 51 seconds to go, Brees found his former Charger teammate Darren Sproles for his fourth touchdown of the night and NFL immortality. 

Brees' record breaking touchdown pass lead to his linemen bull rushing their quarterback, the announcers re-emphasizing the importance of the record, and the deafening cheers from the fans that could be heard all throughout the French Quarter. Every camera in the Superdome turned towards number 9 and countless flashes filled the stadium in a moment that appeared frozen in time. The point after attempt that capped off the 45-16 win and kept the Saints in the hunt for the NFC's number two seed was a formality that did not even draw the attention of the cameras. Everyone in the football world was more concerned with watching Brees hug his teammates, coaches, and get his picture taken than the rest of a blowout. 

But perhaps the most amazing part of last night was not Drew Brees the quarterback who broke an almost three decade old record, but rather Drew Brees the man who surpassed the 27 year mark. 

Every post game interview that Brees conducted embodied the utmost class and humility that a professional athlete could have shown to the media. In a night that was all about Brees' individual accomplishment, the man of the hour reiterated the importance of the team's win, the team's hard work, and called the record a great team accomplishment. And perhaps the most telling moment of the evening came in the post game speech Brees gave to his team in the locker room. Where one of the NFL's most prominent athletes said to his teammates, coaches, members of management, and everyone else associated with the 2011 New Orleans Saints "There may be only one name that goes in the record book, but it's all about you guys." 

In the day of the twenty four hour media cycle and era of sports statistics, nobody would have blamed Brees for focusing the night's reaction on his individual hard work and the importance of the individual accomplishment. But unlike many of the athletes in today's world of sports, Brees tried his best to defer attention from himself. That kind of team focused attitude showed everyone why Brees had been so loved in the big easy for so long. Ever since being signed to the big deal in 2006, Brees worked to put the improvement of the organization over the significance of his individual performance. And with 52 other players and even more members of the franchise not wearing pads all getting praise for their hard work by the man of the night, the true character of the team, and Brees appeared as sincere and as genuine as they come.

But one cannot admire the record that Drew Bress surpassed without acknowledgement of the prior record holder Dan Marino. Marino was an all time great quarterback who was never quite lucky enough to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Just because Brees broke the record does not mean that he is better, nor should we waist our time trying to compare the two. Marino played in an era in which pass rushing linebackers first dominated the league compared to the Brees' time of NFL spread offenses. The times were different, but both men handled this situation with class, dignity, and a respect for the history of the game. Marino congratulated Brees on breaking his longstanding record via Twitter and Brees responded via Twitter by saying all of the right things about Marino. Both of these men played the quarterback position at it's highest level and both of these men set single season passing records in their different decades. Both Brees and Marino should be celebrated for what they accomplished instead of stacked up against each other to determine who was better.

As the NFL regular season starts to fade into the history books, we fans must appreciate the NFL's history books being rewritten by Drew Brees. Moments like what we saw last night come around rarely in today's world of instant gratification. And now, New Orleans' new favorite son will have the Saints marching into the 2011 playoffs after a long climb up to the summit of record mountain.