It's not that surprising that the Saints are looking to escape New Orleans. It stinks that they are preparing to abandon ship, like everyone else. But, honestly, can you blame them? There is absolutely no reason to give the Saints' stadium situation any attention right now. Since Tom Benson knows he has zero chance of getting ANY public funding for a stadium until the late 2010s, can you really blame him for wanting to leave?
This is not the Browns or Oilers or Colts or Rams, or any of the other teams that have inexplicably left cities behind. Those teams had strong franchises, and abandoned their cities solely to grab more money. Their fans supported the team, and gave their owners tons of money. It is inexcusable for those teams to have moved. Tom Benson isn't exactly bankrupt right now, but the Saints are in much worse shape than any NFL team that has moved since the merger. His stadium is in shambles, the city around it is in shambles, and he will have zero support from his city government for the next 10 years minimum. Would you bet your $400 million business on that situation? Or would you instead try to move to the second-largest city in America? When you stack things up like that, Benson doesn't look so bad by comparison. Bad, but not that bad.
After nearly watching the Pats move out of town twice in the 90s, I feel that no team with a local identity should EVER be allowed to move from a city, unless the nightmare scenario strikes. The floods are the nightmare scenario. I feel for Saints fans, since the team is really piling it on these poor folks by leaving town, but it's tough to argue too loudly.
This is not the Browns or Oilers or Colts or Rams, or any of the other teams that have inexplicably left cities behind. Those teams had strong franchises, and abandoned their cities solely to grab more money. Their fans supported the team, and gave their owners tons of money. It is inexcusable for those teams to have moved. Tom Benson isn't exactly bankrupt right now, but the Saints are in much worse shape than any NFL team that has moved since the merger. His stadium is in shambles, the city around it is in shambles, and he will have zero support from his city government for the next 10 years minimum. Would you bet your $400 million business on that situation? Or would you instead try to move to the second-largest city in America? When you stack things up like that, Benson doesn't look so bad by comparison. Bad, but not that bad.
After nearly watching the Pats move out of town twice in the 90s, I feel that no team with a local identity should EVER be allowed to move from a city, unless the nightmare scenario strikes. The floods are the nightmare scenario. I feel for Saints fans, since the team is really piling it on these poor folks by leaving town, but it's tough to argue too loudly.
posted by Jeff at
1:15 PM
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