Photo credit: Getty Images | Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints watches on from the bench during their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome . (Nov. 6, 2011)
Web links T-Rock's Take on the Giants Touchdown!
When Drew Brees first arrived in New Orleans to quarterback the Saints in 2006, he was immediately welcomed by one of the most popular players in franchise history: Archie Manning .
The former quarterback and patriarch of the NFL 's royal family made it clear to Brees that he would help him adjust to his new surroundings, particularly in the wake of Hurricane Katrina 's devastation on the community.
"Archie would text me every Saturday before each game . . . just really trying to reach out and make sure that I knew that he was thinking about me, thinking about [the team] and wishing us luck and that kind of thing," Brees recalled. "He would always say, 'Good luck, go get 'em' and that kind of stuff."
There was one exception. Late that season, on Christmas Eve, Brees and the Saints headed to New Jersey to face the Giants . He did receive a message from Manning before that game, but it had a decidedly different tone.
"His text was: 'You're on your own this week, buddy,' " Brees said with a chuckle. "It was kind of funny."
Manning had no problem choosing sides. And neither will the thousands of fans who will fill the Superdome Monday night for a prime-time game and will try to root their Saints to victory. But there are likely to be some in New Orleans who will have trouble deciding where their allegiance truly lies.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning , after all, is the youngest scion of a Crescent City icon and a product of nearby Newman High School.
The Big Easy will have both its natural and adopted sons facing off in this game, and however it turns out, will be able to claim the winner as its own.
"When I first got to town, you learn very quickly that this is the city that the Mannings are from," Brees said. "People definitely take a lot of pride in saying those guys are from New Orleans."
It will be the second time in his career that Eli Manning will lead the Giants into New Orleans. The first one did not go very well for him; the Saints won, 49-27, in a 2009 game between two teams that were undefeated at the time. That was two seasons after Manning had been the Super Bowl MVP, and a few months before Brees claimed his honor. Much was made of the homecoming.
This time, Manning said, he's not getting caught up in the hoopla. "It is a special place," he said. "I grew up going to games there, so it is always a special trip. I'm really treating it like every other away game. I'm not seeing any family or friends or any sightseeing. I'm going in there as a business trip and know that we have a big game. I want to go out there and make sure that our offense and our team is playing our best."
Both quarterbacks certainly are. Brees is on pace to break Dan Marino 's single-season passing yardage record, a mark he came one incompletion away from topping two years ago.
And Manning? In a season in which there has been debate about his status as an elite quarterback, he's about to join very select company. He is 48 yards and two touchdown passes away from becoming only the fifth quarterback in NFL history with seven consecutive seasons of at least 3,000 passing yards and 20 touchdown passes. The other four are Peyton Manning , Brett Favre , Marino and Brees.
"I have a lot of respect for Eli and what he's been able to accomplish," Brees said. "I think that all quarterbacks kind of have this relationship, just because you know what each one of us goes through and you all kind of get together . . . I don't text or call Eli all of the time or anything, but I definitely have respect for him and consider him a friend."
Heck, they're practically family.
Source:
