That future includes Drew Brees, quarterback, and Drew Brees, New Orleanian. He's a fixture in his Uptown neighborhood, regularly seen out walking his dog, chatting with neighbors, shopping in nearby stores, and making the rounds at the numerous famous restaurants all over town. "Oh yes, he's had dinner here," says David Gooch, manager of Galatoire's Restaurant - a true historical eatery and where, it's worth noting, the fictional, classless Stanley Kowalski refused to dine. "Brees is a real nice fella, and we're sure glad to have him in New Orleans." That's a good thing, because Brees is a fella who's glad to be in New Orleans.

Why would Drew Brees take a chance on New Orleans? Because New Orleans took a chance on him. When I first came here, it looked like a bomb had gone off. A lot of people may have come and looked around at that devastation and said, "I want nothing to do with this place." But, first of all, I came here and met with everyone from the organization, and I got the feeling that they had more confidence in me and my ability to come back from my shoulder injury than I did in myself. That meant a lot. Then, I looked around the city and decided that there was an opportunity to be a part of a rebuilding process, to be a part of a city that will come back and be better than it was before. To be a part of something like that - well, I don't think most people have that kind of opportunity in their entire lives.

You think your job is hard? What do you figure it's like to be playing on a team that's giving hope to a troubled city? It's not a burden at all. It's such a motivating factor. I found it amazing that people barely had money to rebuild their lives, and yet they found a way to buy season tickets. So you realize that people put so much hope and faith in the Saints, and you realize that it is your job to deliver back to the fans and give them everything that they are hoping for.