Hey did you hear? The NFL saved New Orleans!

Because it's a DJ Stuey network and just doing sports isn't good enough anymore. Assclowns who run networks think the vast majority of the people need something extra to watch -- even though now that it's on ESPN, it's no longer an event.

 

The Saints have saved New Orleans!!!!

 

The Saints discounted many season tickets. Some of you hotshots need to carry your asses down to New Orleans and talk to the people affected most instead of just shooting from the hip if you want to spout an informed opinion. You might see a lot of your preconceived notions blown away. Most of you don't have any idea about the city or the people you are talking about. The city has revolved around the Saints since 1967. These fans will go back to a harsh reality Monday through Saturday, but they are thrilled to have the Saints back in town for the rest of the home Sundays. They are happy to have this night, and they will let you guys argue about who might have saved what, and when. 2010 is another story for another day.

 

Oh, I've GOT to hear you explain THAT gem.

 

honestly im watching the end of the game and there is benson doing a strut with the umbrella. im sorry, i know how we would have handled that in philly, we would have kicked the crap out of his fat ass. that son of a bitch tried moving a team out of a city that was completely ravaged by a hurricane. he is complete scum of the earth. honestly i wish i could spend 5 minutes with that fat shit.

 

If the NFL had done it right, the first responders would have come out sometime in the third quarter instead of before the game. Isn't that kind of how it happened, anyway?

 

I think you are totally wrong on that point. Totally.

Saints fans are incredibly passionate. Incredibly. Just because they're living in Houston; Baton Rouge; Jackson; Pearl River County, Miss.; Birmingham; Atlanta and goodness knows where else, I guarantee you they are watching the game. Why wouldn't they? Even the poorest Americans routinely have TV connected to basic cable, or can find one pretty easily.

I won't get into the rest of your points, but they will have been watching. I guarantee.

 

This from a friend who lives in Uptown NOLA but isn't a football fan, who says living conditions have improved to a 1 from zero right after the hurricane.

"The re-opening of the Dome and return of the Saints is a symbol of hope for a broken city that we can one day go home again."

 

Regardless of the level of atrocities, its obvious that there was a lot of suffering that went on there. Same with the convention center.

 

It's great that New Orleans has the Saints back. I'm sure it's one more shot in the arm of normalcy and recovery for a city that sorely needs it.

But as others have brought up, I'll go back to a question I put on record in a column last year -- is the city ever going to recover to a point it can support football in the way the NFL is accustomed to? New Orleans, for the NFL, was the poorest city with the smallest corporate base in one of the smallest metro areas BEFORE the hurricane. If indeed 40 percent of the population that fled Katrina or its aftermath is never coming back, how do the Saints make a long-term go of it? What happens when the emotional rush wears off? In a sense, these are the same questions every business that shut down because of Katrina has had to ask itself before reopening, except that most generally aren't as high-profile or symbolic as the Saints.

However, what helps New Orleans in keeping the Saints is that there is NO L.A. bonanza. No one there is ever going to build a publicly funded stadium. Yeah, I know the NFL is funding some construction studies and whatnot, but so what? And what happens when the lousy team (you know it's going to be lousy to be heading out of town) that moves to L.A. draws flies, which will inevitably happen? Where is the bonanza there? Getting a team in L.A. is definintely a be-careful-what-you-wish-for proposition for the NFL. At least in New Orleans you know that even if the fan base is diminished, it gives a shit.

 

exactly, bob. an nfl team is only worth as much as the sum total of what its corporate sponsors will put into it and what it can sell in luxury suites. i know some businesses have fled town but i don't know that the corporate community looks like today as compared with august 2005 but that's the million dollar question.

 

On the other hand, they tore down the apartment house in Milwaukee where Jeff Dahmer lived.
OK, that was pointless, I apologize.