Another section of reading means more themes about life are surfacing in Drew Brees's memoir, Coming Back Stronger. Chapter nine begins with Brees describing a rich, although unimpressive, New Orleans Saints football history. Brees describes how the Saints have had many great players and even some great teams. However, the team has failed to produce wins consistently in the past. Brees particularly noted Archie Manning, who was a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Saints when he played with the team throughout the seventies. Not only was Archie a great player back in his day, he currently was residing in New Orleans and helping to rebuild the community. Brees described how Manning helped introduce him to the city and also mentor him. Next, Brees continues to describe the long and disapointing history of the New Orleans Saints. Simply put, the Saints tried many different methods, but could not find a true formula for a Super Bowl run or even a run to the playoffs. Brees writes on to describe the devastation Hurricane Katrina had on not only the people living in New Orleans, but also the Saint's players. He described how the hurricane was even more devestating than most people believe. Brees described the season before he arrived in New Orleans. The Saints had to play in San Antonio often for their home games. They never truly felt at home during the season, and struggled to a 3-13 regular season finish.
Furthermore, Brees details the Saints first two regular season games vs. the Browns and Packers respectively. They defeated the Browns and gained confidence. At Green Bay, they were underdogs, but still rallied from a deficit to win the game. After winning the first two games, Brees gained a sense that his team could do something truly special. He knew his team was going to be successful and have purpose, unlike many of the Saints teams in the past. Next, Brees described his experience before the Saints first home game of the season. The game would also mark the first game in the Saints home stadium, the Louisiana Superdome, since December 2004. Brees states that he was shocked when he heard news that the game was sold out. He believed that the devastation of Katrina would leave people with little room to buy tickets to the Saint's games. He described the magnitude of the game he was about to partake in with the Saints. Not only was the game a rivalry verses the Atlanta Falcons, but the game would give hope to the people of New Orleans if the Saints could come away with a win.
Moreover, Brees describes the week of their first home game in chapter ten. He writes about his first experiences in the Superdome, and also the Saints rather normal preparations for the big game. However, coach Sean Payton showed the Saints some graphic and depressing images of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in the Superdome. The images and videos of the effects of the hurricane were tough for the Saints to watch, but they presented them with a new perspective. Coach Payton went on to describe the importance of the game to the city of New Orleans. Last, he showed a video of a little boy running and playing through all the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Payton's purpose of the video was to teach the team about belief. The boy was still willing to play and have fun despite the massive tragedy. Coach Payton helped the team, and Brees, realize how important faith and hope was to every person. Brees writes on to describe his troubling experience before the Saints game. He was going to go to the locker room early on the Monday night of their game. However, he got stuck in traffic and tried to find shortcuts to get to the dome. His shortcuts failed, causing him to be more late than before to the dome. In addition, he scraped his car on his way into a parking garage. He was late to the meeting in the locker room before the game. However, Saint's general manager, Mickey Loomis, provided Brees with comfort before the game. Brees listened to the man and received some calmness over his immense anxieties before the kickoff of the game. Brees described the incredible emotion in the stadium throughout the game. The Saints ended up defeating the Atlanta Falcons. They seemed to be a team of destiny from the moment the game started, and they provided the city of New Orleans with a reason to believe.
I had many personal reflections on this particular section of reading. I particularly found the faith of the Saint's team and the city of New Orleans incredible. I was also shocked that many people in New Orleans had tickets to the first home game. The game was sold out. I believe the message in the sold out game was that the people were longing for a reason to believe as stated above. When I lose hope over some sort of tragedy, the simplest of things can help bring me back to reality. When I am down beyond measure, I can come back from adversity with only a small sense of hope. In general, people do not always need much hope to get through a situation. Hurricane Katrina presented a hopeless situation in some people's eyes, but I believe the Saints brought the hope back to the city. I believe God may have had his hand on that home game in New Orleans. Everyone, myself included, received the sense that the home win was a sign of positive things to come for New Orleans. I could not help but cheer for the Saints at that particular moment. Overall, this section of reading has helped me gain an even deeper perspective on the meaning of hope, especially to the city of New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina.
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