Sunday - September 24, 2006

Monday Night Party

As Hank Junior sings, “Are you ready for some football?” Get ready for Super Bowl XLI-½. It’s all happening this Monday Night at 8:30pm ET on ESPN. It will be the first time the Saints have played a regular season game in the dome since the 2004 season. Even better, the Saints are 2-0 this season and Monday night’s game will be against the Atlanta Falcons, also undefeated at 2-0.

In addition to the sellout crowd of 68,000, there will be over 1,100 media representatives from around the world. Yes, even Al-Jazeera is going to be there. The NFL is promising quite a show with a few surprises. Hopefully Janet Jackson will be absent. It’s all hype and hoopla but I intend to watch at least part of the extravaganza just for the pure entertainment. GEAUX SAINTS!

Superdome Ready For Glamorous Return To NFL
_{NEW ORLEANS (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED) - Saturday September 23, 2006 12:30PM}

The Louisiana Superdome is back in business, more than a year after Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. On Monday night, the iconic symbol of New Orleans will put the newsreels of storm-inspired misery behind it and get back to what it was built for—big-time events.

Unlike its relatively low-key dedication ceremony in 1975, Monday’s coming-out party promises to be a star-studded, media-heavy event. On the field, it’s a matchup of unbeaten archrivals, the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons. Off the field, it’s an opportunity to exorcise some of the demons in the soul of a city that suffered through one of the nation’s worst natural disasters.

The glitz began long before the game. Television networks began broadcasting from the city days in advance. The national anthem Monday night will be sung by local favorites Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint, with Kermit Ruffins on trumpet. The Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day and U2 will perform before the game, and the Southern University marching band will provide the halftime show.

The pregame coin toss will be handled by former President George H.W. Bush, who was nominated for the presidency in the building at the 1988 Republican convention. A cadre of 150 Katrina first responders will stand with Bush. Blanco, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and his successor, Roger Goodell, and Mayor Ray Nagin—a Saints fan since the team first took the field in 1967 also are expected. “It’s certainly a lot bigger than the normal Week 3 Monday night game,” said NFL director of corporate communications Brian McCarthy. “In terms of production, scope and interest it resembles a Super Bowl production a lot.”

That’s a shocking difference from Aug. 29, 2005, when Katrina’s winds ripped the roof from the stadium. Some 30,000 hurricane refugees eventually were sheltered there. By the time the last of those survivors left the Superdome almost a week later, it was a wreck—and an enduring vision of chaos and depravity. Seventy percent of the roof had failed, and 3.8 million gallons of water had to be pumped out of the Dome and its garages. With no air conditioning, mold and mildew grew quickly.

There were those who felt the Superdome should be demolished after the hurricane. But building a new arena would have cost about $600 million, and in a cash-strapped state that was not likely. The Federal Emergency Management Agency paid for $115 million worth of repairs. The state put up $13 million, as required by FEMA. The Louisiana Stadium & Expedition District refinanced a bond package used for other sports facilities in the area to secure $41 million, and the NFL contributed a $15 million grant. Total: $184 million.

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/24/2006 at 12:00 AM   
Filed Under: • Sports •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner