Many discovered or followed Drew Brees on Sunday nights in their living rooms. However, last week, it was in a rather special room that the former New Orleans Saints star showed up.
Two years after his retirement, the former quarterback was present at Porte de Versailles, in Paris, during the 7th edition of the VivaTech show, devoted mainly to new innovations, but also giving pride of place to conferences on the future of the sport. The section on American football was also of particular interest.
At the heart of the exchanges, the recent partnership set up between the NFL, represented by the head of its Europe pole, Brett Gosper, and the international federation, headed by the Frenchman Pierre Trochet. A collaboration aimed at developing flag football on a global scale, a non-equipped and non-tackle version of American football.
To mark the occasion and send a strong message to future practitioners, the NFL has thus commissioned a major ambassador, in the person of Drew Brees. The 44-year-old legend was not chosen at random, having devoted much of his time to flag football in the land of Uncle Sam.
“I have always wanted to be an ambassador for this sport, which I practiced for 20 years.
I started a flag football league six years ago in Louisiana when I was still an NFL player. It has spread to California, Texas, the Midwest…to the point of being played in eight different states. There are many flag football leagues in the United States, all with the same goal: to highlight this discipline to young boys and girls.
That they end up turning to equipped football is not even the most important thing. The idea is really to develop in them this passion for the sport, which they can keep for the rest of their lives. »
On the stage, alongside the Italian international flag athlete, Nausicaa Dell’Orto, Brees supports the outlines of an ambitious project. A project that intends to make flag football an Olympic discipline in the near future. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also due to meet in mid-October in Mumbai, India, to potentially validate this status for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
An exciting project for Drew Brees, who can call others. Because beyond his palpable passion for flag football, and the fact that he taught the fundamentals of the discipline to his children, the famous number 9 has half-acknowledged coming to Paris with other ideas in mind. .
“I became aware of the priority rights of the Saints on the French market. And I was keen to be able to come here to talk about the team. I’m curious to see how this will evolve over the next few years. »
If he is an official ambassador of the flag football project, “DB” does not really have a role in this establishment of the Saints within France. At least not yet…
“I hope to get involved alongside the franchise in this project. We are in regular contact, and I have excellent relationships with the people there. I know, whatever happens, that they have the players able to participate in this operation, whether they are current or former, as is my case. »
By his own admission, France is a country that has an important place, because he comes there very often.
“I came last week, and we came back with my family for the next few days. We try to come to France at least once a year. Until then, we mainly discovered Paris, but we also went through Versailles or Normandy. There are of course other things to see, but this is on our list…”
He does not refrain from returning to France, with the Saints, via joint operations (Brett Gosper mentioned the potential organization of pre-season matches on French territory as part of this partnership, editor’s note).
A real jack-of-all-trades, Brees doesn’t know what his future will be like in concrete terms, but knows that he will take the time to think about each request.
“You know, I coached my kids, as well as my high school team, I was a commentator, assistant coach at Purdue University in the recent past. Now I am an ambassador: I simply like being involved in projects. »
Purdue, precisely, it was the university program that revealed it to the eyes of the world. A program so closely linked to France, through the former stint of receiver Anthony Mahoungou, and the arrival in the spring of former Auburn star recruit, defensive lineman Jeffrey M’Ba. Despite the recent change in staff, Brees is intrigued by what follows.
“I can’t wait to see what it can do. We have a very good coach (Ryan Walters, editor’s note), who is full of energy. It’s been a long time since we’ve had defensive specialists as head coaches, and from experience I know that defensive coaches can breathe new life into a dressing room. He knows how to recruit very well, and the implementation of the transfer portal can allow for a significant overhaul. I see a bright future for this Purdue team. »
The story between Drew Brees and France is probably just beginning, and this on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean…
Credit: NFL – Erwan Demais
