“I think we all chose New Orleans because we realized that it represented something more than just our careers,” the legendary Saints quarterback said at NBC’s “Common Ground” event
Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty; Cindy Ord/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Drew Brees is looking back 20 years after returning to the Superdome
- The retired New Orleans Saints quarterback remembered the 2006 reopening of the Superdome, one year after Hurricane Katrina
- Brees said the game against the Atlanta Falcons is “truly a day that all of us will remember forever”
Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees is reflecting on one of the most poignant moments of his career.
In a panel discussion with Mike Tirico at NBC’s Common Ground event on Monday, Sept. 28, the retired quarterback, 47, looked back on playing in the Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans in August 2005.
“So the reopening of the Superdome, September 25, 2006, truly a day that all of us will remember forever, not just because at the time it was the biggest game of our lives, but we realized what it represented,” Brees said about the game against the Atlanta Falcons. “There was such a connection and a bond that was created from especially that 2006 team in New Orleans, coming off of Hurricane Katrina, coming back to the city of New Orleans where many of the residents had been displaced from the season before.”
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Brees continued, “The entire team had been displaced. And truly, that was a new team. A lot of us had come from other places and had no exposure yet to what we were about to experience.”
The legendary signal-caller shared that the notion of playing football in New Orleans continues to hold special meaning.
Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty
“I think we all chose New Orleans because we realized that it represented something more than just our careers,” he said. “It represented the rebirth and resurrection of one of America’s greatest cities and just the role that we could play in that.”
Brees, a Big Easy icon who was born in Texas and went to college in Indiana at Purdue, played for the Saints from 2006 to 2021. He had five 5,000-yard passing seasons in his two decades in the league upon his retirement in March 2021, and is the league’s second all-time leading passer (80,358 yards) behind Tom Brady (89,214).
The retired NFL star spoke to PEOPLE in July in advance of his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“I mean, it’s an incredible honor, one that I never imagined. You don’t come into the league and think, ‘Yeah, one day I’m gonna be a Hall of Famer.’ I’m just hoping to get a chance to play, you know?” Brees told PEOPLE.
“There were no expectations there, but it’s one of the most incredible honors,” he added.
So too was returning to the iconic stadium to play in September 2006.
“I think there was a piece of everyone that saw that game and there was something that resonated with them, that feeling of perseverance and coming back from a very difficult circumstance, challenge,” he told Tirico. “And I think we gained some lifelong fans after that night.”
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