Hey did you hear? The NFL saved New Orleans!

Is anyone else sick of the NFL's self-congratulatory bullshit regarding its return to the Superdome? This just in: The NFL overstates its importance in American life.

(paraphrasing here)

"It's going to help cure the city." No it's not.

"It'll get people's minds off their troubles, if only for three hours." No it won't. Most of the people displaced by Katrina are not going to be watching football tonight.

And there is no way--NONE--that the Superdome should host anything other than a dynamite-aided implosion. God only knows what atrocities happened there. No games should be played there--ever. Nuke the place.

That's my rant for the day. I'll log off and read your replies now.

 

Go eat another piece of cake, you old bitter hack.

 

BYH,

I'd agree with you on the needed implosion of the Superdome, but New Orleans will need tourism and conventions to rebound, and the Superdome is a huge moneymaker for the community.

Without it, there are no Sugar Bowls, no Super Bowl, no national new car show and the money that comes in through those events. And without the money, they can't rebuild New Orleans.

What I hope happens -- but probably won't -- is that Kornheiser talks about the city he saw (if he got a chance to see it). It's been 13 months, but the devastation and poverty still linger.

Didn't Spike Lee do the Sunday Conversation on ESPN? Didn't catch it, but did he bring up any of that?

 

Not sure the NFL has exactly decreed that it is saving New Orleans tonight. I'll look for those links, BYH. But Mike Wilbon, in NO for the game, said the people down there see it as a big thing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/09/18/DI2006091800715.html

New Orleans: How historic is tonight's game between the Saints and the Falcons?

Michael Wilbon: I don't know that I've been in a more emotional setting for a game. Seriously, I know the games post-9/11 were emotional. I think it's like that. You'd have to be here to see the devastation. My God, its unbelievable that a year after Katrina...it looks like the hurricane struck a week ago. Just miles and miles and miles of communities abandoned, with houses condemned...It's so depressing. And the game means so much here. I haven't talked to a single person in two days, and I don't think Tony has either, who has said they resent the Saints getting all this attention or that they resent the $185 million spent to restore the dome and bring the Saints back. People stopped us in the street yesterday, on the edge of the French Quarter, and would say, "Tell people in your reports how big Monday Night is..." Poor people, well-to-do people, black, white...It's going to be a very, very emotional beginning to the game and pre-game.

- And later on ...

Washington, D.C.: It's great having Monday night back in New Orleans ... however do you think it makes sense spending $198 million on renovations while people are still living in trailers? Thanks.

Michael Wilbon: We'll close, appropriately, with this since it's about tonight's game. It's not a matter of what I think. The people here are thoroughly behind restoring the Superdome. It's an important symbol of Louisiana and what's important here. Would it be important to restore the Washington Monument if something had destroyed it? And I don't even know if that captures the feeling because The Monument is a federal symbol more than local. The Superdome is the most important building here, and houses perhaps the most important institution in Louisiana (the Saints). The thing travel does is allow you to see what's important to the people involved, not see it the way we might feel 1,000 miles away. There's an electricity here that is palpable, and a great many locals who are in trailers or living with others say this is a great first step toward recovery. Not only am I not going to find fault with that, I'm going to toast New Orleans and that first step and home the millions of steps necessary are coming one behind another...and quickly.

 

Are you sure the NFL saved New Orleans? I thought it was Sean Penn.

 

Spike said he hopes a witch doctor made an appearance. He laughed as he said it, but I can't imagine that place ISN'T cursed.

Ralph, I wasn't being literal with the NFL saved N.O. stuff. But the commercials and promotion for the return to New Orleans are along the lines of "hey look at us how great are we without us how bad off would New Orleans be?" It's just another example of the NFL's stunning arrogance. And I don't buy, for a second, that the return of the Saints is doing anything more than lining the pockets of some very rich people.

 

BYH, I'm definitely getting the feeling that this is a huge deal for New Orleans. I know we don't like to think that a sporting event can take on importance larger than itself, but a lot of people are looking at tonight like a watershed moment, like the city has turned the corner.

 

If the NFL is indeed serious about saving New Orleans, will it commit to keeping the Saints there?

I know they're sold out for this season, but I can't help but think the Saints are at the top of the list when it comes to future LA franchises.

 

Very good column on Yahoo! Sports by Josh Peter (no, I'm not him, but I did write on this same subject in my much lower-profile column this week) regarding the very shaky nature of the Saints' future in New Orleans. Don't forget Tom Benson was beginning the process of moving this team out of town before the storm because there wasn't enough corporate backing in NO for it to make sense financially. Now there is even less corporate presence (and money) in the city, and no guarantee it will ever even get back to the level it was before.

Enjoy the NFL now, NO, because it might be gone before long. Tonight's game is a great thing, but those who believe this is a Hollywood ending would be wise to remember that this is a story that actually could end in Hollywood -- when the Saints move to L.A. in 2010.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jo-saints092506&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

Perhaps not THE corner, but absolutely A corner.

It's a big deal when a very public face of a city makes a return. Good vibes can, in fact, have a very positive impact on otherwise hurting people.

 

Sorry but I think where the Saints will be in 2010 IS a big deal tonight.

If you're telling us how important the Saints are to New Orleans, then shouldn't they stay there forever? If you're telling us how valuable the Saints are to the city and its healing process, then what would it say for the NFL if the Saints were yanked and moved to LA? Are you going to tell us that come 2010 the city will be completely recovered from Katrina and will no longer need an entertaining distraction?

This is what I'm getting at. Returning to New Orleans is just an excuse for the NFL to wrap itself in glory. It has no real concern for New Orleans beyond making itself look good and adding several billion dollars to the coffers.