Hey did you hear? The NFL saved New Orleans!

BYH, I'm going to vary a little bit off your rant and I'll spin it this way in my POV. And, you should log back on and reply.

All of this is not entirely on the NFL for the pat on the back. Our friends at the 4-letter network is fellating itself on "how important it is to have the Superdome open and having this game." I want to hear about how the Falcons or the Saints are going to win the game, not about how this is a homecoming for the Saints. They never left New Orleans. They just couldn't play in the Superdome because the citizens who couldn't get out had to make it their home for several months.

Not so fast.

New Orleans before September, 2005: crooked cops, shady city officials, poor neighborhoods, bad environment, and debauchery for college students getting their freak on for Mardi Gras.

New Orleans after September, 2005: crooked cops, shady city officials, poor neighborhoods, bad environment, and debauchery for college students getting their freak on for Mardi Gras.

What is my point in all of this? Despite what happen and the after effects of the hurricane, it's the same old shit in New Orleans. You can blame the NFL all night long if you must, but don't expect me to feel sorry for the Saints either. If there is anything I can't stand is paid professionals bitching about how they had to play a "home game" in New York. If the NFL just said that the Saints will have to "play on the road to start the season," it wouldn't cause such a fucking problem with the sports soapbox preachers. I don't have sympathy for the Saints because all they did (Benson, Haslett, Horn, Brooks, et al.) did was bitch about how they got moved around like rats.

How was the Saints going to play in the Superdome to start the 2005 season? With rafts and paddles? How were they going to practice in the Superdome? Kick out those who were less fortunate to get out of town? Sorry fellas, but these folks are more important to take care of than you crying about where your next practice is going to be at.

Ask LSU, Tulane, Xavier University, and Univ. of New Orleans how it felt to go through the same thing. Big difference was that those kids and their coaches DIDN'T BITCH ABOUT THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES. They dealt with the whole thing with better class and professionalism. LSU didn't whine about moving their game to Arizona State. They played one of the better college games in 2005.

The Saints? Rolled over and played dead in NYC. "It's the hurricane's and the NFL's fault." Yes and no. Yes, the situation forced you to NYC. No, because you didn't bother to buck up and play and act like professionals. Brooks took off to Oakland and Haslett (I don't care how it was played in the media) quit on that team. Blame the hurricane? Sure, coach, sure. You coached the most overhyped team in the NFL. Plenty of talent, but underachieved in every area.

The rebirth of New Orleans? Look at the masses of fans walking into the Superdome right now. What do you see? You see a large sector of fans who "can" afford to spend hundreds of bucks to show up for a game (translation = caucasian fans. I wouldn't be surprised if 95% of those fans do not live within the city limits of New Orleans.

Blame the NFL and their spin doctors if you must. I'm adding my two cents worth by saying this: tonight's game doesn't help with the rebirth of New Orleans, but only as a way for the Saints to reclaim their crib and pimp the city for a new facility. The Saints need the NFL to bail them out more than the NFL is spinning this game as a beacon of hope.

And Reggie Bush isn't going to save them either. It further shows the inepitude of the city and the team that represents them.

It's the same old shit and don't expect anything else from it. And please stop using that hurricane as a point of reference, politically or socially anymore. Katrina came and went last year. She isn't around today to kick around like a dog.

Memo to the Saints: it's 2006. Do what your new QB, RB, and coach are doing: stop blaming Katrina and play football. You never hear LSU or Tulane talk about the hurricane. They don't have to. They showed me more about perservence than the Saints ever will, in the eyes of the poster.

ESPN: stop promoting this game as a rebirth of the city. It's only two underachieving teams with something to prove in the standings.
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It's kinda cold to say it, but D-3 is right. As horrible as I feel for the people suffering through the hurricane and its aftermath, to this day I can't stop thinking about Sodom and Gamorra.

Yes, there are some wonderful people in New Orleans. I met quite a few of them. There are some beautiful places in that city and they throw a hell of a party.

But the level of corruption and ignorance is unlike anywhere else I have been. I just hope what emerges from the rubble is something better than what was there before. I doubt it, but I can hope.