COMFORT, Texas — Drew Brees has another title before the New Orleans Saints' season even starts. He was honorary mayor Wednesday in this small town in his home state. His first order of business was to make a promise he admitted he couldn't deliver.
Via his endorsement deal with Wrangler, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brees presided over activities at the Comfort High School football stadium to kick off the national launch of Wrangler Advanced Comfort jeans.
"Well, now down to business. Now that I am the mayor, NO taxes," Brees told a crowd of about 1,500 from a platform on the field.
Big cheers for that one.
But Brees, flown Wednesday from New Orleans to nearby San Antonio on a Wrangler corporate jet, quickly added, "I don't think I have that authority."
Diehard Saints fan Jackie Freeman, 60, attended with several family members, including a 5-year-old grandson – named Drew.
"Of course, he's named after Drew Brees," said Freeman, who arrived here in the dark at 5 a.m. local time, more than two hours before Brees' scheduled arrival.
Freeman now lives about 45 minutes away in Universal City, Texas, but she grew up on the Mississippi coast and was a Saints' fan from their first season in 1967. Through the team's first two struggling decades, she never lost faith.
"I never wore a bag on my head and I never called them the 'Aint's,' ''said Freeman. "No, no, true, loyal fans did not do that."
There was no chance Brees would be stepping on the toes of the actual mayor. Comfort, an unincorporated community of about 2,300, has no mayor.
The local slogan is "I found Comfort … in Texas." It was a natural fit for Wrangler.
In a proclamation, Brees was declared mayor for the day and the town itself was dubbed "Advance Comfort, Texas" for six months.
In his proclamation, Kendall County Judge Darrel L. Lux described this as a "hard-working town, with a proud history and down-home charm where people in the close-knit community enjoy the small comforts of life."
The Wrangler distinction comes with a $10,000 gift from Wrangler to the town. The big check facsimile presented by Brees was made out to Advanced Comfort.
"You all are now in Advanced Comfort Texas," said Brees, sporting an orange T-shirt with "Advanced Comfort, Tex.'' on the front and, of course, the jeans.
Free jeans and T-shirts were handed out by Wrangler in the parking lot outside the stadium. Wrangler estimated it gave away about 5,000 pairs of jeans. Attendees were allowed to ask for multiples for family members.
The jeans are for men. They were won on the field by dozens of guys who took part in football drills dubbed the "Wrangler Comfort Challenge."
In inviting participants onto the field, Brees said, "I'm gonna supervise. I might jump in there. You never know. … We're going to put these jeans to the test.''
Flipping a football around in his hands, Brees directed participant through foot-shuffling drills – and did some himself to demonstrate.
Brees, who grew up about 90 miles northeast of here in Austin, said the Wrangler jet was also taking him to the Saints training camp in West Virginia. The team is due to report Thursday to camp at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
West Virginia. Brees led the Saints to a Super Bowl title in the 2009 season.
He's one of Jackie Freeman's favorite all-time Saints' quarterbacks, but not her only one.
"My true favorite Saints' quarterback was Archie Manning,'' said Freeman. "I still have Archie first and Drew Brees is second. … I've liked Archie since I was in high school and he was at Ole Miss."
Nick Alvarado, 23, of Kerrville, Texas, is also a Saints fan. Alvarado grew up in Texas but he was a fan of Reggie Bush when he was at Southern Cal and Brees when he was with the San Diego Chargers.
"And when the two got together in New Orleans, that was it. I was a Saints fan," said Alvarado, wearing Brees' No. 9 Saints jersey.
He likes the team's chances this year. "They lost a couple of players, but they still have Drew Brees," said Alvarado.
James Alexander, 67, of Comfort, came with his grandson, Hunter Ledlow, 7. "It won't be long before he (the youngster) is up here on this field playing football," said the grandfather.
Where does Comfort's NFL allegiance lie?
"I would say a lot of them are probably Dallas Cowboys fans," said Alexander. "Then I'd say it's fairly well split (with the college football allegiance) between Texas A&M and the (Texas) Longhorns.
But Wednesday belonged to Brees and the Saints.
"Everybody okay with me being mayor today?" said Brees. "I was looking for any excuse to come back here for a while."
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