Tagliabue assumes New Orleans won't host games
The Saints have been to San Antonio before. Back when our Alamodome opened in the early 90's, the Saints played a few preseason games there. Last year, due to Hurricane Ivan, the team came to town to practice at some of the area's finest high school facilities. (Remember, this is the same state where "Friday Night Lights" was born.)
So they'll be returning to town after their final preseason game tonight in Oakland, and I feel somewhat weird about this. Yes, we San Antonians love our football, even though fan choice is limited to the Cowboys and Texans (which is a bit like picking between spinach and beets for dinner). I'm sure the city leaders would L-O-V-E the chance to show they can support a second major sports franchise (as well as find a regular tenant of the mostly unused Alamodome).
But I'm very surprised that the league didn't push a little harder to find a suitable playing surface in the state of Louisiana. Yes, the residents there currently have more on their minds than how many yards Joe Horn will get. But I'm sure that Louisianans would enjoy the diversion to a greater degree than would a few curious San Antonians.
Any thoughts?
....
The Saints have been to San Antonio before. Back when our Alamodome opened in the early 90's, the Saints played a few preseason games there. Last year, due to Hurricane Ivan, the team came to town to practice at some of the area's finest high school facilities. (Remember, this is the same state where "Friday Night Lights" was born.)
So they'll be returning to town after their final preseason game tonight in Oakland, and I feel somewhat weird about this. Yes, we San Antonians love our football, even though fan choice is limited to the Cowboys and Texans (which is a bit like picking between spinach and beets for dinner). I'm sure the city leaders would L-O-V-E the chance to show they can support a second major sports franchise (as well as find a regular tenant of the mostly unused Alamodome).
But I'm very surprised that the league didn't push a little harder to find a suitable playing surface in the state of Louisiana. Yes, the residents there currently have more on their minds than how many yards Joe Horn will get. But I'm sure that Louisianans would enjoy the diversion to a greater degree than would a few curious San Antonians.
Any thoughts?
....
posted by Greg at 7:34 PM
5 Comments:
Honestly, with all that's going on down there, who has the time to think about football? They probably just went the first place that offered.
i disagree, actually. in a few weeks, the people who are not in new orleans catching typhoid fever and the ague will want to watch something. i can seriously say that there aren't many moments in my life that compare to mike piazza's home run against the brave in the first mets homestand after 9/11. it was a moment where new yorkers could look at each other and release, to say "the world will be kinda normal again."
the issue has been that they want to keep the team in new orleans (i could and might write a post on this). and it's important to keep there team there; having your franchise leave is like saying "it's true, your city no longer exists." these teams add a legitimacy to small cities and that's why they want to have them. and they are a diversion in tough times, a point of civic pride, a representation of hopes even though there is no direct corallary between relief efforts and an aaron brooks touchdown pass.
uprooting a team takes them away from any fan base they may have had. in a business sense you might as well contract the team. but louisiana doesn't have facilities. maybe LSU, but the state probably can't handle the logistics of relocating athletes, which are to be true a bit frivolous right now.
Um, pico, it IS true - their city doesn't exist right now. Maybe the sports teams will go back into the state when the actual people who live there are allowed to go back.
i know it's true. but is that something any municipality is readily willing to admit?
"please, take my team to vegas/ san antonio!" that's an admission of giving up. and the city might not exist but the fan base for any sport comes from the suburbs which were less affected. and i imagine that those teams would also be very involved in raising money for recovery.
let's say they donate a portion of ticket sales to some effort; they would be more effective at raising that money from their fan base, their season ticket holders who are still in the area... some people will stay, work on rebuilding their businesses, certainly. in san antonio they may play to a house of 15,000 curious people.
again, it is an ancillary concern. but still a concern.
remind to fix the font of the comments next week. it's too big.
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