By James Varney
Grapevine, Texas – New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was awarded Saturday with the 2011 Bart Starr award, a prize given by a vote of his peers to the NFL player, “who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community.”
James Varney/The Times-Picayune
Bart Starr said he couldn’t be more pleased with Drew Brees
as a recipient of his award, calling him an extraordinary man
and example of the sports world at its finest.
Brees received the award at an Athletes in Action breakfast attended by an estimated 2,400 people, and at the end of a ceremony in which several Hall of Famers participated. One highlight of the event, hosted by ESPN commentator Chris Mortensen, was a roundtable recollection of the 1967 NFL Championship, famously known as ‘the Ice Bowl,’ in which the Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys.