Football Returns to New Orleans

Last night, on a national stage, the New Orleans Saints christened a refurbished Superdome with a 23-3 victory over Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons.  The game is being hailed as a milestone in the rebuilding process of the Crescent City.

A little over a year ago, the Superdome (along with the New Orleans Convention Center) was a symbol of the failed response to the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina.  The building was ravaged by the storm, and citizens were left there with dwidling food and water supplies as chaos reigned.

But last night, football was the order of the day, and the problems we saw last month in Spike Lee's documentary were nowhere to be found.  Native New Orleanians that I spoke with here in Dallas were less than impressed with the spectacle, and their mood could be summed up as apathetic at best.How many residents of the Lower Ninth do you suppose were at the game last night?  Seventy percent of the 9.8-acre roof that covers the Superdome was damaged last summer by the hurricane.  Yet with the infusion of $186 million, the stadium was ready for football ahead of schedule.

And parts of New Orleans are still littered with all matter of debris, and 3 foot tall stretches of mud that have become new streets.  Do you think they could have used some of that $186 million?  But hey…. the Saints are 3-0 so things must be good.