It was a scene that tugged on heartstrings: Drew Brees, with tears in his eyes, holding his young son on the podium after the Super Bowl. The Saints had just defeated the Colts in a convincing victory, bringing home the first championship in franchise history. This year’s Super Bowl and the circumstances around it serves as an inspiring reminder of the potential of sports.
Sport can bring redemption to those who seek it. After the 2005 season, Brees found himself in the office of James Andrews, a renowned sports surgeon. The news was not good. He had dislocated his shoulder in the last game of the year, and the extreme twist and pressure caused by the hit shredded his labrum and damaged his rotator cuff. He was given a 25 percent chance of playing football again.
If the injury wasn’t bad enough, he was no longer under an NFL contract. After months of strenuous rehabilitation, two teams were willing to talk with Brees and his agent. His former team, the Chargers, was not among them. Brees was ultimately picked up by New Orleans, and the match was perfect. He threw himself into his life in New Orleans, choosing to live in a part of New Orleans still reeling from Katrina. He embraced the community, and the community embraced him. New Orleans and Brees grew with each other, and over the next few years both became stronger. This year saw a fantastic season capped by a Super Bowl win. The quarterback shunned by his old team, with a 25 percent chance of ever throwing an NFL pass again was given a chance, in a city needing help, and he delivered a championship.
The win also showed that sports can provide a much-needed escape during times of great struggle or crisis. No one will soon forget the images of New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina ravaged the region. Devastation was everywhere, as homes, businesses, and lives were destroyed. The Superdome, whose roof was torn apart, became the home for thousands of New Orleans residents struggling to pick up the pieces.
After the storm subsided, the Superdome was repaired, and the Saints came home. Slowly, the stadium stopped being just a symbol of the horrors of Katrina. Instead, it became known as the home of a successful football franchise, a place where New Orleans residents could come to cheer on their Saints and escape the problems of their post-Katrina lives. On Sundays, the Saints provided a respite, and hope.
New Orleans is still recovering from Katrina. But after watching the Super Bowl festivities, it’s clear that sports can be a true source of healing for those in need.
The game didn’t solve any of the serious problems still confronting New Orleans, but there is no doubt that the success of a franchise can seriously alter the outlook and attitudes of a city.
On Tuesday, tens of thousands of jubilant fans lined the streets as the Saints came marching into downtown New Orleans on floats, throwing beads and toasting the city. There was a palpable sense of happiness and relief as a city known for the misfortune of Katrina became the temporary capital of the sporting world. An event like this creates unbelievable amounts of pride, which makes everything seem OK and easier to face life’s challenges.
Sure, in the end, this was just another entertaining Super Bowl. But talk to Drew Brees, the rest of the Saints, or a citizen of New Orleans, and they will most definitely tell you otherwise.
