Sometimes, just sometimes, I am reminded of what’s right with sports. In a sports world of brawls, juicing and crimes, these reminders are hard to come by.
Sports have historically been able to unite our country. At the time of 9/11, MLB and the NFL stepped up to carry the Red, White and Blue. Every flag-carrying outfielder and every National Anthem was enough to make Americans choke up. Five years later, sports are again carrying us on their back. This time they are helping not to unite a nation but to rebuild a city.
This week’s Monday Night Football game featured the Atlanta Falcons playing at the New Orleans Saints. For the first time since the 2004/05 NFL season, “playing at the New Orleans Saints” really meant playing at the New Orleans Saints. Last year, the Louisiana Superdome, the Saints’ home, was hit by the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, and the Saints could no longer play there. The team’s first home game against the New York Giants was actually played in New York. The rest of their home games were played at LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge and the Alamodome in San Antonio.
In the aftermath of the killer storm, New Orleans was completely devastated. The city was flooded, homes were destroyed, people were displaced and many even killed. The Superdome received its share of the destruction too. At the same time though, the stadium stood as a beacon of hope during and following Katrina. Thousands of people flocked to the Superdome, and those who were lucky enough to make it inside found shelter.
The Superdome did not make it through the storm unscathed. It received massive amounts of structural damage, especially to the roof. The stadium’s floors were damaged by the flooding waters. The people inside were not completely safe either. Supplies were limited. People died there too, some of them committing suicide. There were even robberies and rumors of rape.
In the year following the destruction of Katrina, however, the Superdome has once again emerged as a beacon of hope for New Orleans. Soon after Katrina finished running her path, plans were made to repair the stadium with the hope of making it useable for the Saints’ home opener this season. In less than a year’s time, the dedicated men working on this daunting project successfully achieved their task.
It is only fitting that the Saints routed the Falcons 23-3 in front of their first real home crowd in over a year. The city of New Orleans still faces a long road to recovery. As the people of New Orleans return to find their city, homes, family and friends washed away, the reemergence of the Superdome serves as a sign that their rebuilding process is not impossible. If people can work hard enough to bring football back to New Orleans, it is definitely possible to bring a more important game called life back to the city as well.
