Saints to continue to march in New Orleans

By Don Delco
NoLogoNeeded.com staff writer

Lost in the shuffle of the NFL Draft and the NBA playoffs, the New Orleans Saints have agreed to a lease extension April 30 that will keep the NFL team playing home games in an improved Louisiana Superdome through the 2025 season.

I wish I had gotten to this story sooner, but NoLogoNeeded.com was wrapping up in its draft coverage here and here. So, what do the Saints remaining in New Orleans have to do with the Browns? The short answer is, well, nothing.

But any story that involving the threat of an NFL team moving cities gets my attention and brings memories of 1995 rushing back. Like we’ve said before, in the sports world, no one should ever go through losing his or her team to another city.

These threats don’t end in the Big Easy. With Los Angeles sitting empty, owners are using that city as leverage to get what they want. Franchises like St. Louis, Minnesota, Jacksonville and San Diego have been rumored to be looking into that move.

Last month, we noted the threat in Buffalo of their beloved bills moving to Toronto.

When millionaire owners begin playing this game it alienates and frustrates fans. It is hard to express the connection between NFL fans, its city and its team, but that connection occurs only 16 times a year. Because of the infrequency, the bond becomes tight as fans must wait a week between games and half a year between seasons.

Once a team leaves that city, there is nothing left to wait for. That's demoralizing.

So, congratulations New Orleans and embrace the team as only you can because you never know if and when it can be taken away.

Editor’s note: If you can, make it down to New Orleans for a great weekend of music, food and culture. It's not expensive and it helps the rebuilding efforts of a great American city. (And no, NoLogoNeeded.com is not getting paid by the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation.)

  May 15, 2009 at 12:03 PM

Comments

Personally, I don't understand the rush to get an L.A. football team...Haven't they learned their lesson yet? It's painfully obvious that L.A. sports very rarely work, and when they do it's only because they've pumped it full of big names (I'm look at you, Lakers, Dodgers).

Moving an expansion team into LA will fail because the city inherently has NO "hometown folk". I happen to know a good bit of people that live in LA, and they certainly aren't from there. It's a melting pot town, and thus nobody really associates with it. Hence why a new team that isn't flooded to the gills with cash and names will just die out.

Oh, and additional note: How retarded would it be for the Chargers to go to LA? That's like the Clippers going to Los....Oh, wait.

  May 15, 2009 at 1:28 PM by Will H

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