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According to the New York Times "at long last, the Saints have arrived, and they brought New Orleans back with them." And in many ways, this is true. The game last night was amazing, even miraculous. They came back from a 10 point deficit, tying the superbowl come-back record. They took risk after risk, the biggest of which an onside kick to open the second half, and each payed off. Pivotal calls fell in their favor. And when they sealed the deal in an incredible forth quarter interception, they reminded America that New Orleans will surprise us, time and again. My partner is a bit of a sports nut, and he regularly reminds me that sports, at their core, are not about competition and combat. Rather they provide us an emotional escape - we get swept up in the drama and a winning franchise truly can capture the hearts and minds of a city. Winning the Superbowl is the pinnacle of this - one game to prove to America that your team - and your city - is the best of this best. So the story of New Orleans winning the Superbowl, 4 1/2 years after Katrina, provides an even deeper emotional angle. Images of the superdome filled with starving, homeless, desparate people are juxtaposed with quarterback Drew Brees holding the Lombardi trophy and all-night parties in the French Quarter. However, as we continue to send Service Learning groups to New Orleans as volunteers, support our Gulf Coast fellows in their organizing work, and invest in redevelopment, we know that New Orleans is not yet fully back... |
| Many families from the Lower Ninth ward and other low-income neighborhoods still don't have homes. The stark innequality that preceded Katrina has only been exacerbated. I fear that this renewed interest in the city ala the superbowl will leave America with a false sense of recovery, giving New Orleans the spotlight for the last time, with a sense of coming full circle from Superdome to Superbowl. The people of New Orleans deserved a win, and last night was an incredible victory. I could not have been happier when Peyton Manning threw that 4th quarter interception. And when Drew Brees held his son up after the game with tears in his eyes, I had tears in my eyes too. I know how much that moment meant to the people of a city that has suffered so severely and for so long. Sports are an emotional roller coasters and represent real defeat and real victory. But New Orleans needs a lot more help to win the much larger war of complete recovery. |
