The Saints Are Home
It is a good day for the city of New Orleans. The Louisiana Superdome re-opens tonight for Monday Night Football featuring the Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints, just a year after the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. A remarkable accomplishment in such a short period of time. As I am watching the pre-game festivities, I realized the last time I saw the Superdome on TV was during the days following the hurricane when thousands of people were stranded there. Quite a dichotomy indeed.
Please read this great article from ESPN on the story of the Superdome during Katrina and the story of a family that sought shelter there. It must not be forgotten that it will take years for the city to be rebuilt and most of the devastated areas along the Gulf coast still are just that, devastated.
I’ll never forget last year watching the Saints play soon after Katrina. I’ll never forget it because I watched it with a large number of Katrina evacuees in a Texas shelter. Even though I was just a volunteer from Chicago, I became a Saints fan that day. The game was won by the Saints on a last second field goal and gave the people in that shelter a 3 hour distraction from the reality of losing homes and not knowing the fate of missing family members. They we able to cheer for their team, smile and celebrate for a very brief moment. Tonight they can cheer smile and celebrate that their Saints are home again.
Update: The Saints won 23-3 in a dominating performance. The atmosphere was like a Super Bowl. Congrats New Orleans!
