This Saint clearly no devil (New Orleans)

The Washington Times ^ | 11-18-05 | t

[JZelle]

Tom Benson has come to be the bogeyman of New Orleans because of his understandable reservations about a city with an uncertain future following Hurricane Katrina. The owner of the Saints has been portrayed as unthinking and unfeeling, and worse, as he revisited the notion of moving the Saints to San Antonio. Yet he was only doing what anyone with a modicum of common sense would do, which is explore all opportunities in order to maintain the financial competitiveness of a business. New Orleans never has been a big-league city in the strictest sense. It is an economically limited city, a corrupt city in a corrupt state presided over by incompetent lawmakers. New Orleans is not a decadently cool place, as a number of ninnies commented from the safety of their cubicles. No one would think it is decadently cool to be pistol-whipped while being relieved of your cash and credit cards, which was one of the leading industries of the city before Benson blew up the levees and allowed Lake Pontchartrain to enter all too many living rooms. The conspiracy theorists have been out en masse since then, and it is surprising that this space is the first to suggest that Benson, in scuba gear, rigged the levees with dynamite to facilitate his moving of the Saints. This post-Katrina connecting of the dots is no more absurd than Sean Penn's near-drowning experience, the insipid insights of social scientist Kayne West and the doe-eyed lightweight Mary Landrieu threatening to punch out President George Bush if he or anyone in his administration noted what a dolt she is.

[A. Goodwin]

Tom Benson is an ass. He's been holding up the state for more money by threatening to leave for years (and the state has given in over and over again). It may be good business, but fans in LA and N.O. have been loyal to the Saints for years, and owners and players who don't retun loyalty (who don't recognize that there's more than rational economic issues involved) are asses in my book.

[101st-Eagle]

Most owners have done or are doing the same thing. The Glazers held us over a barrel in Tampa Bay until we taxed to give them Raymond James stadium...Multi millionares looking to the public teat to subsidize a private business. It's the damdest thing....

[lormand]

The New Orleans Saints are just leaches on the backs of Louisiana taxpayers.

[Sonny M]

I had a few friends from Louisiana a few years ago.

They told me most of the state hated the saints and these guys used to go to games to boo the teams and wear paper bags over their heads.

I find it hard to believe that the saints were ever well supported or even liked by the fans.

I can remember watching games on TV where the fans cheered opposing teams and booed the saints (not including cheering when one saints QB got injured).

[101st-Eagle]

Yeah, that's when Mora went ballistic on the fans.

[stbdside]

I remember back in 1980 (or thereabouts) when they were 0-14 seeing the fans with paper bags over their faces, and printed on the bags was New Orleans Aints.

[Redbob]

Isn't Benson a car dealer?

Did the PO-lice make off with a bunch of his cars too, while they were making tracks out of town?

[JZelle]

"I remember back in 1980 (or thereabouts) when they were 0-14 seeing the fans with paper bags over their faces, and printed on the bags was New Orleans Aints."

Isn't that where "the snake" ended his career?

[CajunConservative]

You are mistaken. The loyal Saints fans have been there for the perennial Sorryassed Saints through thick and mostly thin. There were of course the Aints years but the people supported them by going to the games. The reason for the bags was to keep their anonymity.