Brees anticipates London reunion

Feb 1, 2008 - 8:37 PM By Jim Ralabate PA SportsTicker Staff Writer

PHOENIX (Ticker) - Drew Brees made a name for himself as a member of the San Diego Chargers. The star quarterback is excited at the prospect of beating his former team on an international stage.

Brees will be in the spotlight next October 26 when he leads the New Orleans Saints against the Chargers in a regular-season game at London's Wembley Stadium.

It will mark the second time in NFL history that a regular-season game will be played outside North America.

But for Brees, the contest will constitute the first time he faces the Chargers since signing a six-year, $60 million deal with the Saints in March 2006.

"We feel like this is a great matchup," Brees said Friday. "Going to the UK to play the game only adds to the excitement."

Brees, 29, posted three seasons with at least 3,000 passing yards in his five-year stint with the Chargers from 2001-05, leading San Diego to the AFC West Division title in 2004.

However, at least one of his former teammates is looking forward to hitting Brees in London next fall.

"Hopefully I'll give Drew Brees a special UK lights-out dance," said Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, referring to his trademark post-sack celebration.

As for the Wembley experience, Brees hopes that Londoners will support the Saints. Last October's landmark game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants drew a sellout crowd of 81,176 at Wembley.

The Dolphins, who dropped a 13-10 decision to the Giants, were the home team in the October 28 contest and seemed to have a majority of the fan support at Wembley. Brees wants to have the same "home-team" backing for the Saints.

"Our goal is to make it feel like a home atmosphere," Brees said. "Hopefully there will be black and gold in that stadium."

A two-time Pro Bowler, Brees has spearheaded one of the NFL's most prolific passing attacks in his two years with the Saints, who reached the NFC championship game in 2006 but struggled to a 7-9 record this past season.

After passing for a league-leading 4,418 yards and 26 touchdowns last season, Brees posted even better numbers in 2007, completing 67.6 percent of his passes for 4,428 yards and 28 TDs.

Brees did admit that the weather could be a factor in London, where torrential rainfall turned Wembley into a slippery mudpit during the Dolphins-Giants game.

"We'll expect wind and rain and go from there," he said. "I'll have to look up some rugby players and talk to them about the weather."

Aside from the weather, Brees revealed that he genuinely liked the city of London itself.

"My wife and I have been there a few times," he said. "We love the city. But the No. 1 priority is to go there and win a big football game."