kingwhicker said:
You wouldn't smile either if you were A) living in New Orleans, B) coaching that garbage, and C) putting up with the bums on that team and the umbrella dancing fool Tom Benson.
Don't believe everything you see and hear on the news.
The suburbs of New Orleans, where most of the Saints players, coaches, etc. live fared okay. It was never impacted much by flooding from Katrina. I've already been in those areas a few times to visit friends. Yes, there is life in and around New Orleans, and people have started moving back. Some have their old jobs, and some are looking for new ones.
The main area that flooded was the ghetto along the east side of town, and I know that none of the Saints players, coaches, or staff live there.
This is the reason why the semi-permanent San Antonio home base makes no sense to me. The Saints facility is relatively intact in New Orleans and most of the families are back in their homes. It appears that Benson was really using this as a good time to move the team, at the expense of the team's win/loss record this season and the personal lives of all involved.
The Saints could have played most all of their games in Baton Rouge, but the NFL and Benson used hotel rooms as an excuse, stating that there weren't enough available to house the Katrina victims and Saints game goers. Their logic is flawed because they are both in the same, and also, they could have used cruise ships as hotel rooms. Tiger Stadium is about a block away from the Mississippi River.
The master planners claim that New Orleans will be a much more upscale town when the rebuilding is finished. The ghettos will not be there, and the roads will be fixed.
In a few years, it will not be a bad place to live and work, or coach a football team.