MIAMI Drew Brees was in the middle once again.

Along the concourse of Sun Life Stadium during Tuesday’s media day, television cameramen and reporters circled Brees, a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback who will lead the New Orleans Saints against the Colts in Sunday’s Super Bowl.

Their questions centered on the Saints’ relationship with New Orleans and the efforts to help rebuild the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Brees answered each query with the same passion he has displayed since touring the destruction as a free agent in 2006.

Since arriving in the city, Brees has been in the middle of the best run of Saints football in franchise history and has used his money and stature to reach deep into needy areas. He didn’t simply slip into the role. He embraced it with a never-ending bearhug.

Brees has raised nearly $2 million to benefit New Orleans. He personally has been involved in at least 12 projects in the area.

A city devastated by a natural disaster needed a symbol of hope. It got Drew Brees.

“There’s a unique relationship between the Saints and the city, and Drew obviously being the face of our team has really taken to the city and how they’ve embraced him,” Saints tackle Zach Strief said. “Obviously his attention to winning football games is important, but the amount of time and money he’s put back into the city is remarkable, and I know they love him more for that than anything.”

While this is Brees’ biggest stage and his role with New Orleans possibly the most significant of his life — a spiritual person, Brees refers to his decision to pick the Saints as a free agent as “a calling” — it’s not his first time embracing the role of community hero.

He did it at Purdue when he led the Boilermakers to the Rose Bowl and kick-started the rise of a football program that went from Big Ten mediocrity to perennial bowl participant. He was the same way at Austin Westlake High School, going 28-0-1 as a starter and winning a state championship in Texas’ largest classification.

“Landing in New Orleans and having the hurricane devastate that community, it’s only natural for him to pitch in where he can,” said Joe Tiller, who coached Brees at Purdue. “It’s just a part of his makeup. He was that way when he arrived here at Purdue, and he’s still that way today.”

Many professional sports figures, especially those with large contracts, create charitable foundations. Brees has set himself apart by being hands-on with the efforts.

“He’s definitely genuine,” Saints backup center Nick Leckey said. “With him, it’s face value. He’s not this image a bunch of marketing people put together to lead the public to believe something. What you see, what you think about him with his Texas roots, being hardworking, being a genuine guy, that’s who he is.”

Vowing to make a difference

San Diego selected Brees in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft. He spent five successful seasons there before becoming a free agent in 2006.

His options came down to the Saints and the Miami Dolphins.

During his visit to New Orleans, new Saints coach Sean Payton made a wrong turn while giving Brees a tour of the city, ending up in an impoverished area destroyed by Katrina.

The images struck Brees. He felt this was the place for him, a place he could make a difference.

Brees and his wife, Brittany, bought and restored a 100-year-old house in the historic Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans because they wanted to be in the city, to feel its daily heartbeat, not simply commute to a job.

The attachment between the quarterback and the city became almost mythic. He has been called “Breesus” and “Saint Drew.”

“I know that I’ve been blessed with a lot of opportunities in my life, an opportunity to go to a great university like Purdue University, to play in the Big Ten, the opportunity I had in San Diego, the opportunity here in New Orleans, so many great coaches and mentors around me,” Brees said this week.

“I feel it’s a big responsibility. I’ve been given a platform to make a difference in a lot of people’s lives, especially those that are less fortunate, those that might not have the opportunities otherwise. I’ve embraced that community in New Orleans because it is a special place, and they’ve embraced me and my wife in a way I can’t even describe.”

Brees’ stature has grown even more after leading the Saints to their first Super Bowl in 43 years.

“For the person that lives and breathes and eats New Orleans Saints football, for them to have someone like that as the quarterback of their team, a guy who also is very talented and a very good athlete, they appreciate that and respect that,” Payton said.

“There is a combination of character, toughness, hard work and athleticism that would draw someone to a person like Drew Brees, and I think it’s unique.”

Brees’ work is extensive. He has helped rebuild homes and schools. He and New Orleans native Marshall Faulk are teaming to build a football stadium in the ravaged Ninth Ward.

Extending his hands and his dollars to help rebuild New Orleans has made him a beloved civic icon.

“Drew has become larger than life to an area that needed someone,” former Purdue football voice Joe McConnell said. "What Drew has done for that city is immeasurable.

“I don’t know of any other citizen who has done more for a city than Drew has done for New Orleans.”

Giving back started early

Brees has given back to the community, regardless of ZIP code.

He arrived at Purdue in 1997 and immediately joined a program to read to elementary school children, a program usually reserved for upperclassmen. His status grew steadily in West Lafayette as he led the Boilers to the Rose Bowl after the 2000 season and graduated with every major Big Ten passing record.

After joining the Saints, he and his wife gave $2 million to Purdue for the Drew and Brittany Brees Student-Athlete Academic Center.

“When you look at an individual who competes in a sport at a high level, whether it’s Division I or professional, and they have a sense of community spirit, it’s a natural inkling that if the community is behind the team, they’re going to attach themselves pretty favorable to individuals who have that same sense of community,” said Dr. Chris Carr, a sports psychologist with St. Vincent Sports Performance.

“That’s part of the identification process with fans. When you have a member of that team who is really community-based, it creates a pretty positive feeling.”

Brees developed that approach in part because he wasn’t always a star.

In high school, he was a “B” team quarterback as a freshman, a junior varsity player as a sophomore and didn’t win the varsity starting job until his junior year.

“A lot of pro players dominated at every level, but he wasn’t that way,” said Ron Schroeder, Brees’ coach at Westlake High School. “There was no way he was going to develop the prima donna attitude.”

Brees went unbeaten as a junior until an ACL injury sidelined him in the playoffs and his team lost. He came back as a senior, leading Westlake to a 16-0 season capped by a 55-15 victory in the Class 5A championship game.

“He was one of the best and most coachable kids you’ve ever seen and he took it a step extra; he didn’t mind telling his friends and teammates he led a clean life and expected them to do the same, that he was in it for all the right reasons, not fame and fortune for himself,” said Mark Hurst, a teacher and assistant football coach at Westlake.

“He was your favorite student as a teacher. He was the boy you want your daughter to date, the boy you want your son to grow up to be. We all knew he was going to go far, you never knew when.”

Now we know.

Austin (Texas) Westlake High School

[chart]
|Yr.|C-A|Yds.|TDs|
|1996|211-333|3,528|31|
|Career|314-490|5,461|50|
[end chart]

Purdue

[chart]
| Yr. | C-A | Yds. | TDs |
|1997|19-43|232|0|
|1998|361-569|3,983|39|
|1999|337-554|3,909|25|
|2000|309-512|3,668|26|
|Career|1,026-1,678|11,792|90|
[end chart]

San Diego Chargers

[chart]
| Yr. | C-A | Yds | TDs |
|2001|15-27|221|1|
|2002|320-526|3,284|17|
|2003|205-356|2,108|11|
|2004|262-400|3,159|27|
|2005|323-500|3,576|24|
[end chart]

New Orleans Saints

[chart]
|2006|356-554|4,418|26|
|2007|440-652|4,423|28|
|2008|413-635|5,069|34|
|2009|363-514|4,388|34|
[end chart]