Drew Brees has become one of the sports world’s most prominent dads, from the time he hoisted his 1-year-old son Baylen during the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl celebration to the various commercials he’s appeared in with wife Brittany and their growing brood of four children.
So it should come as little surprise that Brees was all for the appearance of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry with his 2-year-old daughter Riley in his postgame press conference on Tuesday night -- a moment that turned into a debate Wednesday over adorable-vs.-distraction.
“First of all, I want so much for my kids to be a part of my football life,” Brees said when asked to weigh in on ESPN’s SVP & Russillo radio show.
“And that’s another reason why I want to play as long as I can, because my boys now are 6, 4 and 2 and they’re just starting to get what Daddy does,” said Brees, 36, who proclaimed last year that he wants to try and play until he’s 45. “When I bring them to the facility, just to see the look on their face and the questions I get asked and how excited they are, I want to play as long as I can so that we can have these moments together and share these.
“I think people forget sometimes that we are pretty normal people. Put the game-winning 3-pointers for Steph Curry to the side, and he’s just a normal guy, He goes home, he’s Dad. He’s changing diapers, he’s going to the grocery store and probably doing other stuff that normal dads do. So we want our kids to be part of our lives and include them in many of those things as we can.
“And I think it gives some levity to it at times when people want to just take things way too serious. The family’s going to be included, and you know what, it should be.”
Brees, by the way, admitted that he may have been a bit “overzealous” when he set that age-45 goal last year. But he still didn’t rule it out as a realistic possibility.
During the interview, Brees also touched on Deflategate, among other topics, though he mostly sidestepped the question when asked if he has extra interest in the issue after living through Bountygate.
“Honestly I’m just worried about my team and worrying about what we need to do to win a championship,” Brees said. “Having been on that side … it’s difficult, it’s not favorable for either side … but you hope for the best resolution and then it’s back to playing football.”
Brees’ interview was part of a media blitz promoting a new business venture -- he and Brittany became co-owners of a local chain of sports bars called Walk-On’s that’s looking to expand nationally. You can listen to the interview in its entirety here.