Drew Brees was a great quarterback in the NFL. He is also a Christian man. Here is some of his story.
Brees grew up in Austin, Texas. He loved baseball, but he excelled in football as a high school player. Out of the scholarship offers he received, he chose Purdue, but before that, he suffered a torn ACL. Brees said, "I had seen a lot of my friends tear their ACLs, and some of them hadn’t come back as good as they were before... not as fast, not as mobile, whatever it might be. So, the thought of a torn ACL was devastating to me because I thought that I might be in the same boat as them.” Things in his life changed... "I was 17 years old sitting in church one day with a torn ACL on crutches wondering what if football were not here for me or if sports weren’t here for me. What’s my calling in life? What am I? What’s my purpose? What am I here to do? For some reason it all hit me." The pastor's plea to the congregation was... "God was looking for a few good men to carry the torch and to represent the Christian faith. I just remember thinking to myself. Man, I'd like to be one of those few good men." Brees became a Christian that day. "God does have a purpose for me that’s much greater than football.”
Brees' high school record as a starter was 28-0-1, then he was on to Purdue where his team made it to the Rose Bowl. That led to him being drafted by the Chargers when they were still in San Diego. He played for a few years there but dislocated his throwing shoulder. "I was given a 25 percent chance of coming back and playing by some. That could very easily put a lot of doubt in your heart. But, ever since that moment in high school when I truly accepted the responsibility of being a Christian, I knew that my faith was strong. As long as I relied on that, I knew that there was a plan and I just had to believe it."
The Chargers were unsure of whether Brees would recover completely, so they decided to go with Philip Rivers. That meant Brees was on his way out of San Diego. The New Orleans Saints were a team who had not played well and were in a city that had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Brees said, "Nobody knew what to expect out of Sean Payton. The city had just been completely devastated by Hurricane Katrina; 85% of the city under water. The team had been displaced, 3-13 record. Yet, when you get past the surface and dig a little deeper, you see the heart and soul of a city that just needed somebody to believe in them. Here I was, just needed somebody to believe in me.
"I think that’s when Brittany and I both looked at each other and thought this is much more than just coming to be a part of a team. This is coming to be a part of something much greater and that is the rebuilding of a city."
In his fourth season with the team, Brees led the Saints to their first Super Bowl and won it. That was Super Bowl XLIV (44). But, that's not the most important part! Together with his wife, Brittany, he founded the Brees Dream Foundation to fight against cancer and to help rebuild what was lost in Hurricane Katrina. He has also written a book called Coming Back Stronger which tells of his journey with the message of never giving up and following God’s plan.
This statement from Drew Brees kind of sums up his feelings... "I live for God, for the faith that I have in Him. Knowing the sacrifices that Jesus Christ made on the cross for me and feeling like it’s in God’s hands, all I have to do is just give my best, commit the rest to Him. Everything else is taken care of. That takes the weight off anybody’s shoulders. It’s to give you confidence to know that you’ve got somebody looking out for you."
Good message, Drew!
May God always be your number 1 draft pick!
Draftman Rick
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