Friday, September 29, 2006

Saints Alive!











Sports, like every other human reality can become extreme.

And, I expect professional football falls into that category by just about any definition.

Still, the rallying focus provided by the New Orleans Superdome is an undeniable fact for a city still in crisis.

Monday night was an amazing time for a city badly in need of anything positive.

So, indulge me.

I need to celebrate this important milestone in the return and renewal of a city I love.

Football is really not all that important.

But people longing for a way to connect and identify with one another and with a new beginning discover hope, joy and fun in anything an entire community can rally around.

Last evening I spoke to a good friend who grew up in the New Orleans area. His family still lives in South Louisiana, though Katrina forced them to move to Baton Rouge during the past year. His assessment about the Saints game lined up with mine.

Cities, like people, require hope.

Today I am thankful for the New Orleans Saints.

Not because of football, but because of my own longing to see this great city restored and renewed.

I guess I just left too much love and appreciation there for the city and its people when we moved away almost 30 years ago.

Go, Saints, go!

3 comments:

Jason said...

Larry,
Great post. I think the Saints were America's team last week, even if only for a night. I bristle when I consider how much money it took to renovate the Superdome, but I don't think we can appreciate the hope this game brought to that community. If nothing else, it gave the residents of New Orleans some semblance of normalcy and an evening to forget about their tragic reality.

Anonymous said...

Hope is worth the cost. The only sad thing is that the best our country can offer the people of New Orleans is football.

Go, Saints, go!

(Let's hope more hope will follow)

Anonymous said...

I live in Atlanta. The Falcons played the Saints in the first game in the Superdome.

I actually wanted the Saints to win!