Yes, You Can Go Home Again
After 14 seasons as a successful NFL quarterback, Drew Bledsoe moved back to his home state of Washington to begin his second act: that of business owner, family man, philanthropist, and winemaker
By Brad Goldfarb, Photos by Kimberly Miner
They still cheer the quarterback. It’s different now, of course. There are no foam fingers. No JumboTron. But yeah, they love him here in Walla Walla. Even on a sleepy Thursday morning, in the halls of Walla Walla High School—“Wa-Hi,” home of the Blue Devils—folks turn out to clap that broad back, to show some love for Drew. “Hey, Drew, what’s new?” they ask—the retired principal, the secretary, former teachers, everybody. It’s like a school slogan, that little rhyme: Hey Drew, what’s new? And Drew Bledsoe, all 6'5" of him, looks down and grins. Back in the huddle.
Go anywhere in Walla Walla, Washington, with favorite son Drew Bledsoe, and you best allow extra time for the huddles and the handshakes. “When you’re from a small town like Walla Walla,” Bledsoe explains, “and you go off to play in the NFL, the whole community comes with you, because a lot of them had something to do with your upbringing.”
Listen, does Drew have a second to meet this guy’s kids? Drew does not. His schedule is packed. But Drew doesn’t say that. What Drew says is, “Sure, why not?” And when the quarterback meets those little dudes, it’s clear why he scuttles his itinerary for the people of Walla Walla. It’s powerful, that feedback loop of hometown adulation. “Since I’ve been back,” he says, “I can tell that much of the community takes a lot of pride in my success, and it’s really fun.” Plus, Bledsoe figures, he owes them. “A lot of the people here are justified in feeling that kind of pride, because, in some way, so many of them helped me do what I did.”
It isn’t all nostalgia, either. Turns out, Walla Walla is pretty good at growing something other than future Hall of Famers: grapes. Wine grapes, that is. So, go ahead, ask the quarterback: What’s new, Drew? His answer might surprise you. Drew Bledsoe is making wine now.
Riding the NFL Rollercoaster
In 1993, Drew Bledsoe was on top. He went first in the NFL draft, snatched up by the New England Patriots. But to hear Bledsoe tell it, success on the football field sort of snuck up on him. Before his junior year at Wa-Hi, he’d never dreamed of a future on the gridiron. “At that point,” Bledsoe says, “I didn’t know if I was just the best quarterback in Walla Walla. In the eighth grade, I was slow and skinny. I certainly wasn’t the guy anyone would pick to be in the NFL.”
But Bledsoe grew into his feet just fine. After entertaining offers from Stanford, the University of Miami, and the University of Washington, he joined the squad at Washington State University—in Pullman, not far from home. “They didn’t have much of a reputation,” Bledsoe acknowledges, “but there was an opportunity to play early. And, since it was only 2½ hours from home, all the people who helped me could get in their cars to come watch.” He pauses, and then reveals something else central to his character: “Plus, the underdog thing has always been compelling.”
Three years later, Bledsoe’s soft spot for the underdog served him well again, in New England, where the home team at the time—how to put this?—sucked. For the next nine seasons, Bledsoe, known for his composure in the pocket and his bionic arm, captained the Patriots back into contention (until a man named Brady took the job in 2001). Those final years were rough, peppered with injuries; the salty veteran shipped out to the Bills, and finally to the Cowboys. As his career waned, Bledsoe kept perspective. “At Washington State, I received some very good advice: Make sure you separate Drew Bledsoe the person from Drew Bledsoe the football player. . ..I never tied my self-worth to football.” A good thing, too. In professional sports, where a 35-year-old man is downright prehistoric, a guy had better be looking down the road.
Bledsoe has a theory about retirement. “Guys have a tough time with the transition when they haven’t prepared for what’s coming next,” he says. “You always have to have a purpose.” Sounds like another sports cliché—“one day at a time” and all that—but, like a lot of those clichés, it rings at least partially true. “Playing golf every day sounded great,” Bledsoe says, “but I wanted something that I would be passionate about, and that’s where the wine thing became important.”
Read on to find out about Bledsoe's 'wine thing'...
Comments
31 Jan 2009, 00:14
07 Oct 2009, 23:30
08 Oct 2009, 10:08
08 Oct 2009, 11:19
09 Oct 2009, 00:42
Thanks for making us all proud Drew. GO COUGS!
09 Oct 2009, 11:13
Thank you for the time in interviewing and writing this article. However, I beg to differ with the wine drinkers not being football fans. In my family, that is the best way to enjoy the fall and winter seasons. And if you havn't tried it, do. You will not regret it. :0)
11 Oct 2009, 00:01
13 Oct 2009, 21:07