12/22/24
August 31, 2005
Has Katrina ended the Saints season before it started?: There is a reason why they use the phrase, "home field advantage?" The Saints have already had to move practices, and possibly, they will have to play some or all of their home games at another facility. Add to that the fact that, the majority of their home town fan base has been displaced by the loss of their homes. Will these factors negatively effect the Saints on the field? Will this hurt the franchise? (lost revenue, etc.)
Maybe it will be the rallying cry they need.
posted by texoma-slim at 08:37 PM on August 31, 2005
This is one of those times when life trumps sports. For those on the Saints who consider New Orleans, or any gulf town, their home, it will be mighty hard to be so displaced and yet focus enough to be effective on the field. One player dealing with a personal loss can be rallied by an entire team. An entire team dealing with personal loss and not having their fans there to rally them is another thing entirely. There will be significant revenue loss. Perhaps the other teams in the NFL can donate a portion of gate revenue to the Saints to help in whatever manner they see fit: rebuilding the Dome, supporting fans who have been hit hard, helping rebuild schools...
posted by Fantoo at 09:28 PM on August 31, 2005
There will be a huge dip in revenue. I would not be surprised if the Saints find themselves in the red for the year. But in this certain situation, there are more important things. Most of the time teams should ignore the distractions, but this one will be hard to do. Things will not, and should not, be back to normal until New Orleans is up and running again.
posted by bdf1010 at 10:41 PM on August 31, 2005
until New Orleans is up and running again If it ever is. Seriously.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:44 PM on August 31, 2005
Good point.
posted by bdf1010 at 10:51 PM on August 31, 2005
I say that we focus more on the current residents, or in this case, newly homeless, rather than some NFL players with fairly decent money. Yes, this will hurt team revenue...but these guys have the financial means to bounce back. Think about the guys and gals in Magnolia projects, and the other poor sections of town.
posted by supersly26 at 02:25 AM on September 01, 2005
There will be a huge dip in revenue. I would not be surprised if the Saints find themselves in the red for the year. But in this certain situation, there are more important things. Most of the time teams should ignore the distractions, but this one will be hard to do. Things will not, and should not, be back to normal until New Orleans is up and running again. posted by bdf1010 at 10:41 PM CST on August 31 Given the fact that they have revenue sharing in the NFL, the finacial strain wont be as bad as you think! The bigger financial hit will be to the community at large. All of the money pours into the area from pro sports obviously wont be there this year. Obviously, neither of these items, are not as important as just getting back to "normal'
posted by daddisamm at 07:51 AM on September 01, 2005
There will be a huge dip in revenue. I would not be surprised if the Saints find themselves in the red for the year. But in this certain situation, there are more important things. Most of the time teams should ignore the distractions, but this one will be hard to do. Things will not, and should not, be back to normal until New Orleans is up and running again. posted by bdf1010 at 10:41 PM CST on August 31 Given the fact that they have revenue sharing in the NFL, the finacial strain wont be as bad as you think! The bigger financial hit will be to the community at large. All of the money pours into the area from pro sports obviously wont be there this year. Obviously, neither of these items, are not as important as just getting back to "normal'
posted by daddisamm at 07:51 AM on September 01, 2005
You don't need to double-click. Honest.
posted by yerfatma at 08:21 AM on September 01, 2005
Yes - the trials of the Saints are certainly a backburner issue down south. But I have no doubt that NO will recover - it will just take a couple of years. No more quaint throwback levees - but giant industrial steel mega walls. Haliburton gets the contract as soon as they get into the giant steel mega-levee business.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:29 AM on September 01, 2005
Haliburton gets the contract as soon as they get into the giant steel mega-levee business. Even before. Clearly it's a patriotic act to stake them the development money to allow them to get into a new line of business without incurring any risk.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:38 AM on September 01, 2005
Three words: Las Vegas Saints
posted by dzot at 09:26 AM on September 01, 2005
Sorry about the double click..must be the increase in my medication :-0... Las Vegas Saints? Let New Orleans revover before we take way their teams... Its going to be a struggle for them folks. What can you do when you have looters and snipers roaming the streets?
posted by daddisamm at 10:06 AM on September 01, 2005
Quite honestly, I don't even know why we are even talking about the Saints! The people of New Orleans should be the major concern for everyone, at this point who cares where they have to play. They will come out of this disaster on point, but will the people who support their team each and every year????.... I have to wonder.
posted by royalgold72 at 10:25 AM on September 01, 2005
exactly my point
posted by daddisamm at 10:46 AM on September 01, 2005
We're talking about the Saints because this is a sports site. The team's going to start playing next weekend regardless of the disaster. Sports are trivial at a time like this, but I'll bet a lot of evacuees will be heartened at the chance to watch their team play. I know I was happy to see the NFL return to play after 9/11. Looking far ahead, the day the Saints return to the Superdome will be a symbolic victory for the people of New Orleans. It'll be one more signifier that they've put the hurricane behind them.
posted by rcade at 11:04 AM on September 01, 2005
Looters, snipers, homeless, destitute and those mourning.... ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL !?!?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:07 PM on September 01, 2005
DisasterFilter. I'd hit it.
posted by yerfatma at 12:13 PM on September 01, 2005
DisasterFilter would totally hit you. and your home and your family.
posted by gspm at 01:23 PM on September 01, 2005
Hard?
posted by yerfatma at 02:00 PM on September 01, 2005
rcade, I am quite aware that this is a sport site but, do you honestly think that the people of New Orleans are READY FOR FOOTBALL?????? Da! These people have lost family members,friends, homes, pets etc. I also am sure that there are some players who are concerned about their loved ones as well. Give me a damn break, how can anyone be ready for football with such a disaster going on. One week is not going to cut it, New Orleans has a long hardship in front of them.
posted by royalgold72 at 02:00 PM on September 01, 2005
We are looking at the football angle of this. It does need to be addressed. I understand that San Antonio is happy to have them, but if they can work out the logistics of playing at one of the college stadiums in Louisiana for a while, especially at reduced ticket prices so that people can come see, it would really help the morale of the entire region. One of the purposes of sport in society is to give you something else to focus on, an idealized version of the world where there's always a winner and a loser, and if you lose this week there's always next week where you can win. Don't misunderestimate the power of such a thing, especially when the situation gets real bad. The worse things get, the more important each fleeting piece of escape becomes. If I were the NFL, I'd not only divert funds to get a stadium in the area into playing condition, but I'd subsidize the tickets so that some of these refugees can get to the games and have something to cheer for. It may not be food & shelter, but it's still awful important to the people of the area, whether they're football fans or not.
posted by chicobangs at 02:09 PM on September 01, 2005
I'd subsidize the tickets so that some of these refugees can get to the games and have something to cheer for. It may not be food & shelter, but it's still awful important to the people of the area, whether they're football fans or not. That's a really interesting idea; it'd be a good PR move in addition to a genuinely nice thing to do. And add me to the list of people who think it makes sense to think about this, keeping in mind that it's a way lower priority than anything involving human lives. People care about sports; some of them quite a bit. I don't know what the sports culture in New Orleans was like, really, but I know that if a supervolcano erupted underneath Green Bay, it'd be about twelve hours before people started asking which venue in Milwaukee should be prepped for the Packers.
posted by cobra! at 02:47 PM on September 01, 2005
I don't know what the sports culture in New Orleans was like It must have been huge. Did you see all of the jerseys they were stealing out of those stores? Hell, I don't know, maybe you can filter water through jerseys now.
posted by jojomfd1 at 03:18 PM on September 01, 2005
I'd subsidize tickets after food and water were taken care of. Us NFL fans survive six months plus every year without football, but you can only go three days without water. Priorities...
posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:23 PM on September 01, 2005
do you honestly think that the people of New Orleans are READY FOR FOOTBALL? Of course not. As we write this, people are being attacked and raped in the Superdome, and the police trying to retake the building have been beaten back by an angry mob. Dead people are all over the place. I wouldn't be surprised if the NFL cancelled the first week of the season. But people are resilient, and when New Orleans no longer resembles Mad Max, the refugees and the rest of the Gulf Coast will take heart in the return of the Saints.
posted by rcade at 05:16 PM on September 01, 2005
I would never, ever endorse putting sports ahead of basic human needs like food, water and shelter. But I am saying that things like moral and civic pride go a long way toward restoring a sense of place, civility and togetherness that will help keep the region from degenerating into some kind of Lord of the Flies style dystopia, which is happening right now. Giving people something outside of themselves that they can all pull for (especially if the League contributes to food, shelter and hospital care as well) would go a long way toward making the area worth living in again.
posted by chicobangs at 05:20 PM on September 01, 2005
Civilization is a thin veneer over the dark hearts beating inside us. Any commonality which brings people together, distracting them from looking out for #1, is a good thing.
posted by yerfatma at 05:27 PM on September 01, 2005
I gotta admit, "The San Antonio Saints" has a nice ring to it.
posted by alumshubby at 07:40 PM on September 01, 2005
chico, I agree -- I just think that the timing could be tricky. If people go to a restored Superdome (or somewhere else) and see electric lights, air conditioning, hot showers, tasty hot food and clean drinking water, and then have to go back to a situation where they're missing some or all of those things, the result might well be a heightened degree of anger rather than a sense of civility and togetherness.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:01 PM on September 01, 2005
This in: it'll be in Giant sStadium, date TBA. That's gonna be a tricky bit of scheduling...
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:40 PM on September 02, 2005
I agree with a story I read earlier. They should demolish the Superdome. It's damaged and will always be a reminder of horrible suffering for many, many people. I can't even imagine it there last week. Rapes, deaths, suicides, feces, urine; horrible. Level the place.
posted by dyams at 08:16 PM on September 02, 2005
See earlier discussion for more.