Saint elsewhere to heaven-Saint
She also knows what she's about to hear.
''The first thing they say is, 'Did you see the [Saints] game?''' she said. '''How about that weekend?'''
I have to say I've been a little suspicious of some of the talk about the New Orleans Saints. Yes, they're becoming America's Team because they're playing for fans who could really use something to cheer for. On top of that, the Saints are the classic underdog, the Cubs of the NFL, always embarrassing.
I mean, their lasting symbol is a paper bag. Remember the Aints?
But, really, how much can a football team mean to the guy who has lost his family, his job, his home? Be realistic. It's a game. Many of the buildings still haven't been replaced. Many of the ones still standing have never been filled or cleaned. Businesses fled. Half the city's population is gone. The people in New Orleans have dealt with a little too much reality for a game to clean it all up.
''You have no idea how much the Saints mean,'' Dickson said. ''I've heard a group of women planning a baby shower around when the Saints are playing. Last Friday, I went to a private all-girls school that [was wiped out] by Katrina. I was following up with the girls to see how they were doing. The entire school was decked out in black and gold. Teachers, students. They had a pep rally.
''The Saints have become symbolic of rebirth and renewal here. Also, they're something exciting and happy that everyone can talk about, not about contractors and roofers and FEMA or trailers. I know that may seem silly, but you have to live here to understand.''
Think again.
Bears offensive tackle John Tait said the Saints are ''the feel-good story of the year. When they played that first game back in the Superdome this year, everyone was watching.''
And cornerback Peanut Tillman, who went to college at Louisiana-Lafayette, understands:
''It's good that they're winning to bring back that excitement to the city of New Orleans. I definitely think that their winning is helping the city out. They're raising more money, able to rebuild things.''
The Bears cannot compete with this story. While businesses were fleeing New Orleans, the Saints threatened to go but stuck it out throuough times of their own. They played last season without a home stadium, played their first home game against the New York Giants at the Meadowlands. They played in San Antonio but couldn't reserve the place for practices. So they practiced at times on high school baseball fields. Sometimes, after games, they would just stay there, on the road, for a week's practices. They played at LSU's stadium in Baton Rouge.
And they were awful. But they stayed.
And it turned out that the dome, which had housed people whose lives were smashed by Katrina, was fixable after all. So the Saints were able to come back.
''A year ago when we were here, we weren't even sure if we could get the dome open,'' NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. ''To see the Saints be able to bring the franchise back here and to see the success they have had is incredible.''
They drafted Reggie Bush, who has had a big presence in the community. They signed quarterback Drew Brees, who has made a point of being visible in the city, eating at different restaurants, buying a home. Brees says that people come up to him all the time to thank him, not for winning, but just for coming when everyone was leaving.
Do you remember 1980, when the Saints went 1-15? Fans wore the bags on their heads. The New York Times wrote the other day that the Saints' kicker that year, Russell Erxleben, said it was so bad, ''I tried to commit suicide twice, but the bullet went wide left.''
But how does a football team's success help someone with real problems?
''It's not to say that everybody is out partying,'' said Dickson, an assistant professor in the psychiatry department at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. ''Our crime rate has gone up; there's a lot of dissatisfaction with how slow the rebuilding process has been. Contractors have come in and stolen everything out of people's houses. They have been victimized and re-victimized.
''There's so much in the city to get you down. This is something to feel good about. It's just very positive and incredible.''
Maybe sports can do that much. People identify with their teams. And for the first time in a while, New Orleans is a winner.
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