It’s a story all New Orleans Saints fans have never heard, and it truly proves that the truth can be stranger than fiction.
Saints legend Drew Brees was in New Orleans Thursday for his annual Pickleball Fest at the Convention Center.
Brees spoke about his experience with Hurricane Katrina 20 years later, and told a story about one of the biggest games of his career.
Brees signed with the Saints just months after the storm in what was part of rebuilding the franchise and the city.
The first game in the Superdome following the devastating storm was in Sept. 2006 against the arch-rival Atlanta Falcons.
This game is known as the “Domecoming game,” sending a message to the world that New Orleans was reopening and rising above the destruction caused by the category 5 hurricane.
Brees said former Head Coach Sean Payton revealed in an upcoming interview a story neither had told before involving him nearly missing the game due to the massive crowds who turned out for the reopening of the Superdome.
“Back then we stayed at the Airport Hilton, which couldn’t be further from the Dome,” said Brees.
Brees said he was unfamiliar with the back roads to the Dome, and tried multiple ways to get to the stadium.
“It almost came to me parking on the side way and running down the Poydras off ramp into the Dome,” Brees said.
After Brees got to the stadium, he said his bad luck kept coming because the SUV he was driving wouldn’t fit in the parking garage.
Brees said he had to abandon his car with a security guard coming to his rescue.
He also explains how General Manager Mickey Loomis helped get him in the right head space before the pivotal game.
Listen to him tell the entire story in the video above.
READ MORE:Drew Brees tells never-before-heard story about nearly missing the famous Domecoming game
