Coming Back Stronger
Page 29
The Tuesday after we won the NFC championship, Ellen said on her show, “My Saints are going to the Super Bowl!” And then she was having fun with her mother—Mama, as she calls her. She said that Mama wanted to go to the Super Bowl, but she had to find two tickets. It was just a funny little segment, not intended to be a true request to go to the game. But Brittany and her mom took it seriously and immediately jumped into action. Brittany called my marketing agent, Chris Stuart.
“Chris, stop whatever you’re doing. We’re getting Ellen tickets to the Super Bowl.”
“Ellen who?” Chris said. “What are you talking about?”
Brittany explained the whole story, and Chris called the producer of the show. There was a gasp on the other end of the line. They never in a million years thought someone would actually give Mama tickets.
“Are you serious?” the producer asked.
“Yeah, I’m completely serious,” Chris said. “Brittany and Drew want to do this for Mama.”
The next day Ellen read an e-mail from Brittany on the air with Mama sitting in the audience, beaming. Brittany had written that we were both huge fans of the show and that the only prerequisite was Ellen’s mother had to paint her face black and gold for the game. The audience loved it. Ellen wished us good luck and said I had to chat with her after the Super Bowl.
After we won, I made good on the promise, and she had me on her show. We talked about what New Orleans had done for my career—how I felt like the city had saved me, not the other way around. We discussed what this season meant not just to the people of New Orleans but to the whole region. Then she “retired” my jersey, hanging it from the rafters of her studio, and made a surprise presentation for Brittany and me. “Since you gave Mama seats . . . we want to give you permanent seats, you and your wife. . . . We will name the seats after you too.”
There’s a connection you have with people from this area—it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve been—there’s just something at a heart level that connects. No matter where in the world you go, New Orleans is always part of you.
When I was on the podium after the game, looking out into the stadium with all the people on the field, I made eye contact with an older, white-haired woman. I had seen her only a couple of times before, but I knew immediately it was Mama. She must have wiped black and gold off her face before going on the field. I blew her a kiss anyway.
Epilogue
Now that the Saints have scaled the ultimate football mountain and won a Super Bowl, it would be easy to sit back and enjoy our World Championship. But success presents as many challenges as setbacks do. I know every team we play is going to want to knock us off the pedestal. We’ll have targets on us all year. It’s up to us to find the motivation to push forward and build on the work that’s been done. Will we be better in the new season? Only our commitment to growing stronger and getting better will answer that question. There aren’t any shortcuts on the path to success. The way to do it is the same as it’s always been: take things one game at a time, one drive at a time, one play at a time.
Winning the Super Bowl is not the end of the adventure. There’s more to our journey—we have not arrived. Now it’s time to prepare for the next challenge.
The story isn’t over for New Orleans, either. We’ve made a lot of progress, but it’s too soon to relax. It’s not like every part of the city has suddenly been rebuilt overnight. If you drove through the Lower Ninth Ward with me, I’d show you some areas that look amazing, where people have rolled up their sleeves and banded together to rebuild. But I’d also show you houses where it looks like Katrina happened yesterday, places where there’s nothing left but a slab. We’ve done some great work. But the story of our recovery is still being written.
The people of New Orleans are up to that task. And so are you.
I might as well tell you that whatever your struggle is, there is no final exclamation point that says, “You’re done!” Yes, there was immense satisfaction for our team when we held up that trophy, especially after everything we had been through. The tougher the journey, the sweeter the celebration at the end. But that was only one major milestone on our long list of goals.
When I set out to write this book, my ultimate goal was not to get you excited about my career or the Saints, or even to make you want to move to New Orleans (although we’d love to have you at least visit us!). My desire was to have you turn the last page and become excited about waking up tomorrow. You will undoubtedly have challenges ahead that you will have to face and overcome. But don’t forget that adversity is not your enemy. It can unleash a power in your life that will make you stronger and help you achieve amazing things—things you may have never thought were possible . . . until now.
Now that you’ve heard some of my story and the events and influences that have contributed to the person I am today, I’d like to make this personal for you. If I could sit down with you and have a face-to-face talk, these are some things I would say.
• Find a mentor. No matter who you are or what your profession is, we all need someone who can keep us grounded and speak truth into our lives. Find people who have built their lives on a solid foundation, and humble yourself to learn from them. I’ve never known a successful athlete, businessperson, or anyone else who has made an impact on the world who didn’t stand on the shoulders of other great men and women.
• Don’t give up. The worst thing that could happen in life is not getting knocked down; it’s getting knocked down and then staying down. If you lose a job, if your relationships crumble, if you face a health setback—get up. You may fall again and it may hurt, but get back on the horse. And once you’re up, hold your ground. Commitment is when you refuse to give yourself an excuse.
• Turn your defeats into triumphs. Any difficulty you face—whether it’s a tear to your shoulder, a person who betrays you, a dysfunctional family, or the bad luck you have with the economy—can unleash power within you for good. Use that negative to help you not only climb out of the hole you’re in, but rise to greater heights. The greatest opportunities in life are the ones that test us the most.
• Dream. If your mind can conceive it, you can achieve it. Not on your own, and not without struggle and hardship and effort. But when that vision mixes with hard work and commitment, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
• Hope. In order to come back after a disappointment and accomplish something great, you have to believe in something bigger than yourself. But it’s not enough to just put your hope in hope. You have to have an object of hope. For me, God is the center of that hope, and I lean on him to order my steps and show me the right path. Having hope in the Lord means I trust in his plan and believe he’s never going to put anything in front of me that’s too hard to handle with his help.
• Be flexible. My dream was to win a championship with San Diego and play my whole career with that one team. That didn’t happen—it wasn’t the plan. And it took a devastating injury to tear me away from that city. Be flexible enough to know when you’re being led in another direction, and then follow that new vision with all your heart. You are being led there for a reason—coincidence is usually God working anonymously.
• See adversity as an opportunity. Remember, experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. No matter what comes your way, remember that God can use everything in your life for good, even though it may seem unfair or insurmountable at the time. Seize that adversity and let it make you stronger. Welcome it, and unleash its power.
• Don’t be afraid of taking a few steps back. A step back is not necessarily a setback. Sometimes you have to take a few steps backward before you can get the momentum to jump over a chasm in your life. The goal may be farther than you thought, and what you see as backtracking may really just be helping you get up the speed to make the final jump.
• Don’t spectate—be ready. Instead of standing on the sidelines watching, spend that time getting ready for the next play. Too m
any of us are caught sleeping at life’s traffic lights. When the next opportunity comes your way, make sure you have prepared yourself well enough to seize the chance you’ve been given. You never know if you will get that opportunity again.
• Remember who you are. God created each one of us for a purpose. You will find that purpose in doing the small things well, in taking things one day at a time. That purpose will always have an element of serving others. If you’re well grounded in who you really are, and if you do the right thing for long enough, eventually you will start to see the fruit of those decisions.
When people think you’re not big enough, not smart enough, not wise enough, or not experienced enough for a task, remember that faith will carry you through. The test of adversity is one that’s fought with faith.
• Finish strong. It is not where you start in life, but rather how you finish. It’s that last play that can make all the difference in the outcome. Keep it simple: in everything you do, make your last rep your best rep.
If you take away only one thing from this book, never forget that sometimes your greatest victories can come from your greatest defeats. The next time adversity knocks on your door, stand up tall and do the right thing. You can do more than just survive. You can come back—stronger.
Photo Insert
This is my grandpa Ray Akins holding me up. I hold my son, Baylen, like this now.
For as long as I can remember, I have had a football in my hands and that same look in my eye.
My little brother, Reid, and I always had a special bond growing up. We were best friends.
Hoisting the MVP trophy after beating #4 Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl in 1998
Brittany and I outside the Le Petit Bofinger restaurant in Paris right after we got engaged
On the beach in Okinawa, Japan, in March 2008. This is the actual beach where my grandfather Ray Akins stormed in as a 19-year-old Marine, April 1, 1945. It was a very emotional day.
Christmas 2008: Brit was 8½ months pregnant with Baylen at the time.
Brit and I before the Raiders game at Qualcomm Stadium in 2002
Dr. Andrews told me that if he had to do the surgery over again 100 times, he couldn’t do it as well as he just did. Now that is what you want to hear!
My buddy Micah’s courageous battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma gave us the strength to accomplish all we did in the 2009 season.
On the 2007 “Brees on the Seas” fishing event with some of the kids from Children’s Hospital of New Orleans
Getting the kids pumped up before the 2005 Brees Gridiron Classic at Qualcomm Stadium
I really appreciate the opportunity to support the men and women of our armed forces. Here I am on my third USO trip (2008) with my two former teammates, Donnie Edwards of the Chargers (fourth from left) and Billy Miller of the Saints (far right).
Brittany, two-month-old Baylen, and me in Maui in 2009
Baylen’s first Christmas (2009)
Swinging with Dad in Audubon Park in New Orleans, 2009
Teaching Baylen how to putt like a pro (2010)