Drew Brees: What Could Have Been

What Could Have Been.

Drew Brees, the most statistically accomplished QB in the league not named Peyton Manning is the new all time single season among quarterbacks. The prettiest girl at the ball of All time. Let that sink in. That’s crazy. And to imagine, he could have, some argue should have, been breaking Dan Marino’s single season record and making it (and the Dolphins) look good as he did it. As a member of the same team Marino played for. Imagine how much more this moment could have meant. Rather than the predominant story among media outlets and the fanbase in Atlanta surrounding the New Orleans Saints QB being how “classless” it was to leave him in to break the record in a game that was already decided, it could have been how amazing it was that one franchise witnessed the only two 5,000 yards passers in history. History. That we were adding a second quarterback into the illustrious record books of NFL history. That the record still belonged to the Dolphins. But one bad offseason date just keeps on getting worse.

We took him to Grille 66. Ordered the best bottle of wine and complemented his hair, told him his birthmark gave him character and told him how great we could be together. Then we took him to Club Doctor, groped him for 6 hours until we went from undisputed number one on his list to the weird guy with the frisky fingers. On top of that we low balled an offer and asked him to go dutch on the date. That was the last straw and he was gone.

To let him go should have hurt worse at the time. After that fateful physical we should have ran to him before he got on that train to New Orleans and out of our lives for good. It was as if the Dolphins thought that any quarterback would kill to be a Dolphin and let him walk as if it were nothing. Worse yet, that next March we sent a 2nd rounder to Minnesota for Daunte Culpepper and his posse. That 2nd rounder would only turn in to Ryan Cook a decent center but nothing to right home to mom about. The very next pick though? Greg Jennings. Ouch. (And the very next after

that? Anthony Fasano to the Dallas Cowboys) So, like most stories were the two people that were meant to be together but end up with another, one half gets married to an awesome partner and the other to a not so awesome partner. We know what Brees got out of his marriage to the Saints; three kids; Super Bowl, Multiple records and franchise savior.

Those kids should be ours. But what did we end up with? A bitter, short lived marriage to Daunte Culpepper during which he went from beautiful pre-marriage to a warty, overweight, injury prone, turnover machine. A quick fling with Joey Harrington and it was over. The only thing left over was a bad taste, plenty of regrets and a dog we don’t want.

The record falling now is like seeing that girl years later, with a great smile, great hair, a banging

body and a massive ring on your finger. All we can do is grin, smile and say we are so happy for you, then go home, turn off the lights, close the shades and think about what could have been.