Saints vs. Colts: Drew Brees' Career Mirrors New Orleans' Recent History (Bio)

Super Bowl XLIV quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees, has had a career where one big injury changed everything for the rest of his career.

But that change was for the better now looking back in retrospect.

The same can be said for the city of New Orleans.

Despite the tragic losses of friends, families, and loved ones after Katrina (which is not the comparison for this article, it is just the destruction part of it), the city was a growing, fun, and entertaining destination in the southern United States before the hurricane struck.

Now in the aftermath and recovery effort in the city, it has rebounded with more life and promise than every before.

Brees' career has similar comparisons to New Orleans' recent history.

Brees was drafted in 2001 in the second round of the NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers and became the full time starter in 2004 were he had a breakout year and made it to the Pro Bowl.

The only issue was that before the 2004 season started, the Chargers selected Philip Rivers as their quarterback of the future.

With Rivers not ready to take over the starting job from Brees and the fact that Brees had an amazing year in 2004, the Chargers franchise tagged Bress for 2005.

In 2005, Brees played another solid season of football, but then tradegy struck and he suffered a bad shoulder injury (the destruction comparison enters here) in the last game of the season.

Even though he got injured, 2004 and 2005 were both full of growth for the quarterback and fun and entertaining for Chargers fans.

Unsure if he would be able to fully recovery from his shoulder injury, the Chargers offered a low risk contract with minimal guaranteed money and Brees took offense to the offer and decided to shop for a new team.

The Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints were Brees' two options and he decided to sign with the team and city that somewhat mirrored what he went through in losing what he previous knew in San Diego to begin anew with the city of New Orleans which was also beginning anew too.

The match of Brees and the city of New Orleans could not have been more perfect since the team has helped Brees prove all the critics wrong about his shoulder injury and he has helped rebuild the city through not only his personal time, but by rebuilding the team into a Super Bowl contender too.

Brees career has rebounded with the Saints with more life and promise than ever and he has the Saints to thank for giving him a chance to rebuild his own career after an injury that many counted as career threatening.

The new and improved city of New Orleans will always be synonymous with the new and improved Brees and they have helped each other get to the one of the highest levels in the sporting world.

UPDATE: 2-7-10 9:54pm EST: It is official Drew Brees has helped the Saints and the city of New Orleans win their first ever Super Bowl championship in beating the Colts 31-17.

A terrific ending to two great stories!