Super Bowl XLIV: Kickoff at 2:30 a.m.

Image courtesy: Staff Sgt. Jeff Lowry

There is no doubt Master Sgt. Eric Anderson, pictured celebrating the AFC championship game victory of his Indianapolis Colts on January 25 in Balad, Iraq, wants to watch Super Bowl XLIV. If he's not required to be out on a mission, he'll have to wake up at 2:30 a.m. to cheer Peyton Manning on to what he hopes will be another post-season triumph.

In Afghanistan, troops will have to gather at 4:00 a.m. to watch the big game. According to the Pentagon, soldiers not required to be out in the field will be able to watch the Colts take on the New Orleans Saints at places like a makeshift tent at Kandahar Air Base or a dining hall at Forward Operating Base Ghazni. The game will be broadcast by the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, and be free of the lucrative advertisements all of us in the United States are accustomed to watching on Super Bowl Sunday. Instead, servicemembers will get encouraging messages from President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and even Saints and Colts players.

While thousands of troops from Indiana and Louisiana are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world, one player who has earned a special place in the hearts of many U.S. troops is Saints quarterback Drew Brees. In 2008, Brees travelled to Afghanistan with the USO to meet troops and boost morale. An article in The Times-Picayune has an account from New Orleans native Lt. Cmdr. Will Pressley, who waited in line at Bagram Air Base to meet the NFL star.

"Most guys who had shaken so many hands by then would have been a little visibly bored, uncomfortable in an unfamiliar, harsh environment, or just trying to get through the rest of the night," Pressley said. "Not Drew, who seemed really happy to be there. He was like a kid in a candy store. I think he would have been an incredible military officer, or at least enjoyed his time in the service."

Indeed, Brees' affection for troops has earned him a cherished place in military minds. The quarterback was given a ride in an F-15D Eagle fighter jet out of the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse in May, because of his support for the military.

Brees endured the "physical punishment" of a grueling, 45-minute flight, experiencing 8.8 G's, or 8.8 times the force of gravity, 159th Fighter Wing commander Col. Roy Qualls said. And then, Brees asked for more.

"No one ever asks for that," Qualls said. "He was ready to keep going."

The Colts have also made noble gestures to honor the military, naming Medal of Honor recipient Sammy Davis as co-captain for the AFC championship game. It is fantastic to see the NFL and its employees keeping our troops in mind, and hopefully the millions of fans watching the game will do the same. As we sit on our couches with friends and enjoy a Sunday evening of snacks, laughter, and beer, there are thousands of fellow Americans sitting in war zones at weary hours of the morning wishing they were with us. While words like "hero" and "warrior" are often thrown around by overdramatic announcers to describe football players, Drew Brees knows who the real heroes are.

Image courtesy: USO