He'll watch the Super Bowl from home, but don't question Drew Brees' moxie.
According to a recent study, the Saints quarterback -- following his sensational 2011 campaign -- ranks as the most powerful athlete in all of sports.
This according to the Bloomberg Businessweek/Horrow Sports Ventures 2012 Power 100, which ranked Brees at No. 1, with the Packers' Aaron Rodgers (No. 2) and the Patriots' Tom Brady (No. 3) rounding out an NFL quarterback triumvirate that once again left the WNBA eating dust.
Horrow Sports Ventures and CSE studied roughly 600 athletes from a field of 3,000, measuring on-field play, name awareness, social-media activity, appeal, influence, trustworthiness and overall popularity.
What this distinction does for Brees in real life remains a mystery. It's a stretch to imagine a passer-by pulling on his sleeve with: "Drew Brees! Bloomberg Businessweek/Horrow Sports Ventures 2012 Power 100's most powerful professional athlete in the United States!"
Total mouthful and unaccessible to the average man -- and perhaps an omen: Last year's No. 1, Peyton Manning, has tumbled to No. 51. Meanwhile, athletes narrowly missing the cut include Steve Balboni, "Haystacks" Calhoun, She-Ra and the other Curt Warner.
Just a hint of the competition Brees faced in reaching these heights.
