I have spent a good part of my life watching New Orleans Saints’ football through the years. We all know there were some years where it was too painful, but somehow we all still  believed in them.

The first teams I recall always gave us hope with the likes of Bobby Hebert, Dalton Hilliard, Rickey Jackson, Pat Swilling, etc. The Saints had years where they made the postseasson, won the division, set records and won a playoff game. But it wasn’t untill an undersized quarterback, coming off a potentially career-ending injury teamed up with a risk-taking offensive innovater that they became championship material.

From the moment Drew Brees and Sean Payton banded together, the entire perception of the Saints changed. They won and continued to do so. In their first year in New Orleans, they led the team to its first NFC Championship appearance. Despite missing the postseason the following season, Brees nearly broke the single season passing record. And last season, they accomplished the unthinkable. Winning the Super Bowl.

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The Super Bowl XLIV MVP’s acheivements were recognized this week in Los Angeles when he took home three ESPY awards including best male athlete. The success of the Saints has lifted the spirit of a region devastated by Katrina and continues to do so in an offseason marred by a disasterous oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

I got a chance to see Brees in person last Saturday during a signing for his new book. The journalist in me wanted to ask him so many questions but I understood his schedule and so did everyone else.

As I took a few pictures, I quickly came to realize that probably more than anything, everyone there just wanted to tell him thank you, which he often replied back, for what he has done. Thank you Drew for your spirit to never give up.