The 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath and the seemingly move of the St. Louis Rams has churned many emotions recently. I know to the casual observer there may seem to be zero in common between what went on in New Orleans and what is going on in St. Louis. But take a look back with me for a few minutes and let's see what we come up with.
Many fans today probably do not remember that it was not too long ago that Saints owner Tom Benson was seriously entertaining offers to move the Saints to another city. He was most interested in the city of San Antonio. The city has built the Alamodome and not only that everyone knows that the state of Texas loves it's football. Things were not good with the Saints at that time. The team had struggled for some time, they had made a mockery of things with the Ricky Williams saga and so on. Many across the nation viewed Tom Benson as a off the wall owner that drew more attention for dancing around with his silly umbrella than he did for bringing a winning product to the Bayou.
And then the unimaginable happened. On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina led to one of the worst natural disasters in North American history. Levees were breached and the city was flooded. People had nowhere to turn and the government seemed to be caught with their pants down. In the aftermath thousands and thousands of residents did their best to reach the Superdome. I can understand why, when you see a structure that large your first reaction is that is has to be safe there, right? The answer was yes and no. While it did give people a roof over it's head, even though badly damaged it also was a site of death, carnage, and even crime. Even at a time like this Tom Benson was still considering moving his team. I remember thinking what kind of low life would do this at a time of need. The Saints played "home" game in New York and San Antonio. I thought there was no way with the damage to the Superdome that the Saints would stay. They were gone for sure.
Boy was I wrong. The NFL, government, and so on helped Tom Benson renovate the Superdome and not only did they not move, but it looks like they never will. On Monday September 25th, 2006 the Saints hosted the Atlanta Falcons in one of the most memorable games ever played in prime time. The city was so anxious to show the nation that yes indeed they had survived a natural disaster and that it was time for visitors to come back and embrace the region. And boy have they ever. Another special thing happened that night. Saints player Steve Gleason blocked a Falcons punt and the ball was recovered for a touchdown giving the Saints a victory that sent the stadium, and region into a frenzy. Since then Steve Gleason has been an advocate for suffers of ALS and has helped raise millions of dollars for the cause.
So let's rewind. You have a city, with a team on the verge of moving, hit by a disaster. The city and region comes together and rebuilds the surrounding area, partially led by the once vilified owner of the NFL team who now can do no wrong and has since spent millions of dollars through philanthropy work on everything from putting a jolt into the region to helping renovate the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. Wow, what a novel concept huh?
So how does this tie in with the current situation in St. Louis? Our city is in need of a jolt, or shot in the arm that will HELP bring the region together. The city has been riddled with crime, the region has been split due to division over the Michael Brown incident. And the riverfront itself needs the new stadium. There is work presently going on to rejuvenate the arch grounds. But the area north of the arch grounds is in dire need of attention and a new stadium and it's surrounding area would go far to make that happen.
We know that Stan Kroenke is driven by the all mighty dollar. If not why would he not want to take the same role that Tom Benson had and help be a savior to a region that desperately needs his help. Here we are, a city in need of a new stadium much the same as the Saints of 10 years ago. Here we are, a city with an owner with his eyes squarely focused on pulling the moving vans up to Earth City as early as February. And here we are, a community so anxious to celebrate the powers that be coming together to do the right thing. I don't foresee a Hurricane or levee breach of Katrina proportions anytime soon in the city of St. Louis. So we are going to have to rely on Stan waking up one morning and deciding that he has enough zero's in his bank account, or he is willing to sell to someone who is ok with a stadium that "only" cost 985 million dollars instead of 1.4 billion dollars. Regardless, it is a shame that a man's greed far outweighs his desire to be a man that could be celebrated for years to come. Mr. Kroenke do yourself a favor, walk down a city street sometime and mention the name Bill Bidwill to a football fan. Then mention Georgia Frontiere and see the facial expressions. I think you will understand.
Will you be celebrated in L.A. by the fans if you bring the Rams back? Of course you will. At least initially, but then the 10 straight years of losing will lose it's luster and they will move on. The Rams have done so much in our community and these are things we can never replace. Just last January I helped organize a Cancer awareness event and the Rams were one of our biggest supporters. If you are not going to keep the team here at least do the right thing and help ensure that we will have another team for years to come. After all, if you become the second owner to rob football fans of St. Louis the sport we love, you may be the owner responsible for the Lou never having an NFL team again. Call Tom Benson and ask him what he would do.
Many fans today probably do not remember that it was not too long ago that Saints owner Tom Benson was seriously entertaining offers to move the Saints to another city. He was most interested in the city of San Antonio. The city has built the Alamodome and not only that everyone knows that the state of Texas loves it's football. Things were not good with the Saints at that time. The team had struggled for some time, they had made a mockery of things with the Ricky Williams saga and so on. Many across the nation viewed Tom Benson as a off the wall owner that drew more attention for dancing around with his silly umbrella than he did for bringing a winning product to the Bayou.
And then the unimaginable happened. On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina led to one of the worst natural disasters in North American history. Levees were breached and the city was flooded. People had nowhere to turn and the government seemed to be caught with their pants down. In the aftermath thousands and thousands of residents did their best to reach the Superdome. I can understand why, when you see a structure that large your first reaction is that is has to be safe there, right? The answer was yes and no. While it did give people a roof over it's head, even though badly damaged it also was a site of death, carnage, and even crime. Even at a time like this Tom Benson was still considering moving his team. I remember thinking what kind of low life would do this at a time of need. The Saints played "home" game in New York and San Antonio. I thought there was no way with the damage to the Superdome that the Saints would stay. They were gone for sure.
Boy was I wrong. The NFL, government, and so on helped Tom Benson renovate the Superdome and not only did they not move, but it looks like they never will. On Monday September 25th, 2006 the Saints hosted the Atlanta Falcons in one of the most memorable games ever played in prime time. The city was so anxious to show the nation that yes indeed they had survived a natural disaster and that it was time for visitors to come back and embrace the region. And boy have they ever. Another special thing happened that night. Saints player Steve Gleason blocked a Falcons punt and the ball was recovered for a touchdown giving the Saints a victory that sent the stadium, and region into a frenzy. Since then Steve Gleason has been an advocate for suffers of ALS and has helped raise millions of dollars for the cause.
So let's rewind. You have a city, with a team on the verge of moving, hit by a disaster. The city and region comes together and rebuilds the surrounding area, partially led by the once vilified owner of the NFL team who now can do no wrong and has since spent millions of dollars through philanthropy work on everything from putting a jolt into the region to helping renovate the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. Wow, what a novel concept huh?
So how does this tie in with the current situation in St. Louis? Our city is in need of a jolt, or shot in the arm that will HELP bring the region together. The city has been riddled with crime, the region has been split due to division over the Michael Brown incident. And the riverfront itself needs the new stadium. There is work presently going on to rejuvenate the arch grounds. But the area north of the arch grounds is in dire need of attention and a new stadium and it's surrounding area would go far to make that happen.
We know that Stan Kroenke is driven by the all mighty dollar. If not why would he not want to take the same role that Tom Benson had and help be a savior to a region that desperately needs his help. Here we are, a city in need of a new stadium much the same as the Saints of 10 years ago. Here we are, a city with an owner with his eyes squarely focused on pulling the moving vans up to Earth City as early as February. And here we are, a community so anxious to celebrate the powers that be coming together to do the right thing. I don't foresee a Hurricane or levee breach of Katrina proportions anytime soon in the city of St. Louis. So we are going to have to rely on Stan waking up one morning and deciding that he has enough zero's in his bank account, or he is willing to sell to someone who is ok with a stadium that "only" cost 985 million dollars instead of 1.4 billion dollars. Regardless, it is a shame that a man's greed far outweighs his desire to be a man that could be celebrated for years to come. Mr. Kroenke do yourself a favor, walk down a city street sometime and mention the name Bill Bidwill to a football fan. Then mention Georgia Frontiere and see the facial expressions. I think you will understand.
Will you be celebrated in L.A. by the fans if you bring the Rams back? Of course you will. At least initially, but then the 10 straight years of losing will lose it's luster and they will move on. The Rams have done so much in our community and these are things we can never replace. Just last January I helped organize a Cancer awareness event and the Rams were one of our biggest supporters. If you are not going to keep the team here at least do the right thing and help ensure that we will have another team for years to come. After all, if you become the second owner to rob football fans of St. Louis the sport we love, you may be the owner responsible for the Lou never having an NFL team again. Call Tom Benson and ask him what he would do.