Did Katrina save the Saints for New Orleans?

I sure am glad our government didn't turn down hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid for the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. Oh, wait. They did.

 

I can't believe how much public money was used to fix the Superdome so the Saints could play there again. Having toured the area numerous times since Katrina, I know plenty of neighborhoods that could have better used the millions. That city is a mere shadow of its former self, and it will take many years to get back up and running at full tilt, if it ever happens.

Now that the city's power elite has rid the town of people they see as largely undesirable, though, it will be an eye-opener to see what transpires. Doesn't look good in many ways, and the old New Orleans is dead and gone.

 

I have family and friends in New Orleans. It's sort of a double-edged sword with the media coverage having the sports teams there sometimes brings. I talk with the people I know there and, on the one hand, they want the media coverage showing how much still needs to be done in the non-tourist areas. At the same time though, they want the media to get the word out that New Orleans in open for business and they fear that if the blighted areas are shown too much people will think that's all there's left in New Orleans so tourists shouldn't visit, conventions shouldn't come, etc. So they also want the word that tourists can come a visit and still have a good time, conventions can come, etc. since that's a large part of the economy.

 

This link has been posted on the board before, but it should be required reading for this thread...

http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/living-0/1159890904114050.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

 

I too was shocked that the Superdome was fixed up as quickly as it was.

However, given how corrupt and totally imcompetent the city leaders are in New Orleans I'd have a hard time believing that they would have put the Superdome money to any use other than lining their own pockets, or those of their cronies.

It will take New Orleans a long time to recover, longer than the rest of the Gulf Coast, for the simple reason that the people running the city are crooks of the highest order.

 

The Superdome isn't just used for Saints games. Anyone interested in knowing how many days out of the year it was booked for other events before Katrina could call Bill Curl, a gentleman who works there and can tell you all the uses the building has.

Including being a shelter of last resort that probably saved many lives.


And nice archive work, Jack. That column never gets old.

 

How about those of us in "surrounding areas" that don't even get noticed at those times? And I shudder to think about those on the La-Tex border who got hammered by Rita and you *never* hear about them.

 

The stories about city funds going to the repairs for the Superdome remind me of the debates regarding community funding of new stadiums and arenas. And believe me, I've been involved in plenty of those the last few years due to my Pittsburgh connections. That being a recently-bankrupt city with a new football stadium and baseball park with a new hockey arena on the way.

The problem comes in when you try to quantify these things in dollars and cents. It's aboiut more than that and sometimes you have to look beyond the bottom line. Things like sports franchises have an impact on a city's image, from the outside and from current residents. And perceptions make a difference in many ways, including the long-term health of a city.

Bend and twist the economics any way you want, but keeping the Pirates and Penguins meant something to Pittsburgh. However costly, those were victories for a failing city. Maybe that is why I understand the drive to get the Superdo

The same holds true for the Saints in New Orleans. I'm not sure people outside of the city understand what the Saints mean to the people there. Yes, there were probably more practical ways to spend the money. But the people of New Orleans wanted their team home. And maybe it was worth it just to have a symbolic victory for people who have been through so much. I know talking about the spirit of the people and the city sounds hokey and we're all too damn cynical to think it matters, but isn't the recovery of New Orleans as much emotional as physical? Maybe the people needed to see some immediate, tangible evidence of their city returning to normal, or at least what passes for normal down there.

Please proceed to rip away if you feel it is necessary.

 

Professional sports franchises exist to make huge profits for their owners, most of whom are either silver-spoon billionaire heirs, or gravy-train-riding corporate CEOs.

The "civic pride" stuff is a myth propagated by the owners to delude regular citizens into thinking they have some kind of obligation to support the owners with publicly-funded stadiums, astronomical ticket prices, etc etc.

And the second the owners think they can make 10 more bucks, they're out the door.

There have never been more fervently supported and loved local franchises than the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts, Seattle Supersonics (in their title years) and Quebec Nordiques, but the owners were all happy to make a run for the money.

 

Much as I occasionally appreciate your hardass responses, you strike me as a sadly bitter person.

Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion. Some of us actually still understand what it is to be a fan, too.

 

Many of the latter are more friends, relatives and former colleagues of mine. Rita hit my hometown hard. You're right: It's the Hurricane That Never Happened, even in much of Louisiana's consciousness.

And Del, at least one person I know went through parts of Mississippi during the regional, so I was including that in the "widespread." I should have been more specific.

 

Yeah, well, I grew up.

And I realized that the owners of any franchise I decided to "love" as a fan would be happy to fuck me and all my fellow devoted fans over in 10 seconds any day they think they could make five more bucks in Hootersville, Alabama.