The future used to seem terrifying, as it can when so much seems to get built upon the same structure and a piece of that structure begins coming loose.
Drew Brees was the Saints. He was the face you thought of when you pictured the team. He was central to every conversation about success and failure. He was the symbol of hope and then, later, despair. A whole generation of fans is too young to remember life before him, and countless more who know the before times all too well and never want to experience that reality again. The fear of the unknown can be paralyzing but sometimes, knowing what is on the other side of the door is even worse.