The Story Behind The Saints Winning Super Bowl XLIV

It's not often that I plug a book but just before half-time Debbie mentioned some on-line books she has been reading...more importantly she mention this one and that the entire team had read this prior to ever donning the uniform for today's game. Call it fate, call it a miracle, call it anything you want but you can be sure of one thing, the New Orleans Saints Finished Strong. ~ Norman E. Hooben

Finish Strong, by Dan Green

Finish Strong heads to the Superbowl

Finish Strong captures the hope and determination of people in a big way

It’s the new battle cry for tens of thousands, two words that summarize the deep hope, boundless courage and heartfelt determination of people everywhere. It’s no wonder, since these two words clearly defined the call to action in America than any other two words in the English language.

Dan Green, author of the book Finish Strong is working with NFL Football Star Drew Brees to spearhead an effort using the words Finish Strong to raise funds for charities in New Orleans. This past week, over 40,000 fans T-Shirts with the words Finish Strong emblazoned on them were purchased by New Orleans Saints fans to help raise almost $250,000 for local charities. Drew Brees tweeted that their goal is 75,000 shirts by game time Sunday. The shirts retail for $15 to $20 at a number of locations in New Orleans and online.

In the next few weeks, they hope to see the effort role across the nation, a battle cry for people who want to channel their energies and unite to helping needy people wherever they are.

“When you adopt the finish-strong mentality, you create a level of personal accountability that guides you through critical decision points – the finish-strong moments—the points in time when you must decide which path to take. Will you lie down, settle and quit, or will you move forward toward your goal to the best of your ability? Sometimes, these moments come in a split second, and sometimes they come over a long period of time. Regardless, you, and only you, have the power to choose how to respond to the challenges in front of you.” – Dan Green, Author
Drew Brees indicated that the official players shirt says, "Our City, Our Home" on the front and then "Finish Strong" on the back.

“Every member of our team received Dan Green’s book ‘Finish Strong’ at the beginning of the off-season,” Brees said. The inspirational book is filled with stories of people overcoming adversity with courage. “It then became a mantra for our team throughout the off-season program, preseason and regular season. We recognized that if we could indeed finish strong in everything we did, we could achieve the lofty goals we had set for ourselves.” – Drew Brees

Links of Interest:

	Finish Strong Miami Bound
	Watch the DVD Movie (if the picture is too large for the screen change the aspect to 75% ~ Norm)
	See Inside This Book