Posted on 09/26/2006 6:01:32 AM PDT by LS
I watched the full TiVo-d MNF football this morning, and was a little disturbed by some of the things that I heard.
First off, I rooted for the Saints. I like their team, and they are a classic "underdog" story. I hope they win every game until they lose to my Cowboys in the NFC Championship.
BUT . . . the message that seemed to come across---I could be wrong---was that football "was" the future of NO, that it was all the city had. Having Spike Lee in the booth didn't help, but beyond that, it seemed like the reconstruction of the SuperDome, which, I'm guessing, was done overwhelmingly with tax dollars was kind of the wrong message to be sending.
I could have missed it, but I didn't see the "success stories" being featured of the private companies that had come back (have any?) or the private-sector's successful rebuilding of communities. (They did mention Harry Connick, Jr.'s program, but didn't really focus on its success.
I guess my concern is that the underlying feeling was that if ALL a city has is a football team---no political leaders who can rally the public, no civic leaders who can create an atmosphere of confidence, and no entrepreneurs (aside from Emeril, who has done a whale of a job) who are creating jobs---then you don't have much.
Now, I do think it could be a reasonable business strategy to re-build from the "inside out," and bring back tourism, sports teams, restaurants, hotels, etc. But that would require something the MNF team didn't want to touch: the incredible corruption of Nagin and the LA scene, and the necessity of having a strong, reliable police force that will make tourists feel safe. (Last couple of times I was in NO, I did not feel safe.)
Am I making too much of this, or were others here troubled?
It seemed to be a well planned PR campaign to basically push the city of New Orleans. Now the ethics of that on a "football broadcast" I guess is up to personal choice. But it almost seemed like overkill. Of course there was a tinge of Bush has not done enough , even though his father did the coin toss.
People need to understand that with the devastation along miles and miles of gulf coast there are places that will take ten years to rebuild.
I'm another who turned the channel when Spike Lee was on...
It seems to me that either NO, or MNF, or whoever booked these "ACTS" did so very politically. Spike Lee and Green Day??????
Although I concede that the dome could be a vital part of the rebuilding of the cities financial future, it cannot be the main part. Without local businesses, the tax base cannot be reestablished. Many of the jobs they touted are seasonal, or game day jobs only. Hardley a stable job.
I agree with your comments. The game and the theme were pretty good in my opinion.
The life blood of NOLA was tourism. The Superdome, for better or worse, housed events that brought massive numbers of people to the city ... Super Bowls, Final Fours, Sugar Bowl ... etc. They had to get it back up and running.
George HW Bush got a nice response. :)
Kornheiser is a lib who tried desperately to get Spike Lee to bash Bush. Totally inappropriate.
A word of advice. Don't live there. If you do, fend for stupid self, buy insurance and stop sucking money out of my wallet!!
I can't afford to rebuild my own house, but I can afford my NFL season tickets to the Saints. /sarc.
The music choices were,,,,,odd. I mean, when I think of the music of New Orleans, the first bands that come to mind are not U2(Ireland), Green Day(California), & Goo Goo Dolls(Buffalo, New York). What, they couldn't find any New Orleans musician?
Spike Lee is an overrated, smug, twit.
Saints, big.
We turned the channel..there's nothing he can say that matters squat to me.
I was happy to see the dome back in shape, the team winning and everyone having a good time, yet you do bring up some good points.
The city motto, "Let The Good Times Roll" got them in mega trouble as they blew off Katrina until too late. Fun is great, but 'where's the beef?'. Pointing fingers and begging handouts doesn't get anything productive accomplished. IMHO of course.
Will it be "a chocolate city," as Mayor Nagin says?
Exactly, they interviewed Harry Connick Jr. on the sidelines - my first thought was "Ummm why is Harry one of the musical acts?" --- or maybe Dr. John and one of the bands from Bourbon Street, etc etc etc.
My wife asked me why the main musical attraction was two British groups and not an American group. My question was why they didn't have a Jazz band open the game. I was so embarrassed by the Brit fags attempt to sing "The House of the Rising Sun" that I left the room. I did not watch the half time show. I find all celebritry interviews to be annoying and would love for the NFL to stop the sideline chick reporting. My take is the commentators need to focus on the game and not on celebrities and their advertisements. Based on the report by Marshall Faulk, I think New Orleans is going to join Detroit as the incredible shrinking cities. The only thing that can truly save NO is for them to develop a two party system. Only then can they kill the poison of corruption that has killed economic prosperity in NO for the last 60 years. As regards Spike Lee I didn't even listen to him. Just another celebrity hawking his wares for free. Too bad they didn't actually interview anyone from NO, the story might have been different.
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