Lola Dardar
July 27, 2010
Senator Circle residents oppose duplex donation
July 29, 2010
Galliano native Rae Dufrene walked outside of Houma’s Books-A-Million store on Monday with a stack of books under her right arm and butterflies still freshly embedded in her stomach.
“I just can’t even put it into words,” she said in amazement. “My knees are still trembling.”
Dufrene and a group of several women had just completed 29 hours of patiently waiting and had been given their reward – an autograph from their hero, Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees and a swift kiss on the cheek for being the first fans in line.
“It was well worth it. I did this for my two grand babies. To see how happy they were when they got to see him – that made it well worth it,” Dufrene said. “No offense, but getting that kiss is better than getting one from my husband.”
Brees was in Houma in conjugation with a signing tour for his new book: “Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity,” which details the quarterback’s rise from a possible career-threatening injury to now being a Super Bowl champion.
The quarterback was approximately 10 minutes late to the signing, which made the crowd even rowdier with their chants of “Who Dat?” when Brees walked through the doors.
For some, a kiss on the cheek was the grand prize. But for most, it was being able to spend a few seconds with the Louisiana hero less than six months after he rewarded Louisiana with a Super Bowl title.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Houma native Jean Pierre Hebert. “You just want to touch his arm, you know? Touch the arm that won us that trophy.”
In total, more than 1,000 fans braved the 100-degree heat indexes and wrapped from inside the store all the way to near Sicily’s Pizza well outside of the building to await their turn.
Once in the building, fans were not disappointed with their 20 seconds with Brees, as he did his best to welcome each person waiting for an autograph.
“That just made my day buddy,” he said as he patted a youngster on the head after being given a hand-drawn picture saying, ‘Thank you for coming to see us.’
When another fan asked if he was ready to make another run at the Super Bowl, Brees again was quick to respond.
“We’re going to give it our best shot, I promise,” he said with a smile.
Welcoming the fans with open arms is why fans say they had no qualms about waiting for their favorite player.
“He’s a very good man,” said Peggy Copeland. “He definitely made everyone feel right at home.”
Hayden Hebert agreed and said he didn’t know he’d be able to talk to Brees – but he’s glad he was given the opportunity.
“We didn’t think we’d be able to do that,” he said. “But he asked us what’s up and stuff like that. He was great.”
One clever fan, Galliano native Matthew Champagne hopes for more meetings with Brees in the future.
Inside the front cover of the book he handed to Brees was an invitation to his wedding.
“I understand he’s pretty busy,” Champagne said. “But hey, it’s worth a shot, right? It might be a long shot, but so was the Saints winning the Super Bowl in the first place.”
To get a ticket for Monday’s signing, fans had to attend a Sunday afternoon session to pick up tickets for the event.
With tickets being on a first-come, first-served basis, the Books-A-Million parking lot quickly turned into a tailgating-like atmosphere throughout the weekend with barbecue pits lit and people sleeping overnight in tents.
“7:20 on Saturday morning,” said Copeland. “That’s when we got here. We spent 29 hours in line total.”
The signing marks the final few days of fun for Brees as the Saints report to training camp this week.
The outlook for the team this season? More winning than ever.
“They are the champs until someone beats them,” Champagne said. “It’s tough to repeat. Everyone knows that. But to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. Someone’s going to have to beat us.”
But regardless of the team’s success in 2010, 10-year-old Brandon Robichaux said Monday will be a day that he will never forget.
“That was the coolest thing ever,” he said. “It’s just awesome. We stayed in line since 8 on Saturday night, but it was worth it. Drew’s my hero.”
Saints quarterback Drew Brees signs his book “Coming Back Stronger” as Todd Starowitz (left) with Tyndale House Publishers gets another book ready. More than 1,000 fans turned out for the book signing with some having waited for more than a day in line. CASEY GISCLAIR
