Football

I grew up near Pittsburgh in the 1970s, when it seemed like the Steelers ruled the universe. I was a fan because it was part of the culture. We used to pray for the Steelers at my Catholic school. Then I figured out that God doesn't take sides in sporting events and that winning is not a sign of moral virtue, and I pretty much stopped caring about sports, especially professional team sports.

I'm offended that so much was spent to refurbish the Superdome when the rest of the city languishes.

But I've been teary-eyed all day about the Saints. Which goes to show that I will cry about anything these days. It also shows how much that game last night meant to this city.

If you're not here, you can't really understand. All year, the collective message we've gotten from the rest of America has been something like "You were stupid to build that city to begin with, you're stupid to go back, but why don't you welfare trash go home, get off your lazy asses and rebuild and stop whining and asking for a handout, and get out of our faces. And by the way, I hope another hurricane comes along soon and wipes you out for good." Or maybe that's just the message we've been getting from Texas.

This is not the p.c. way to look at it, but that game felt like a big Fuck You to everyone, and everything in us, that has made us feel like losers and fools and unwanted Americans.

The Saints could not have picked a better moment to stop sucking ass.

P.S. I'm not paranoid or making things up. This was posted on craigslist today:


People of New Orleans...........Suck!!!!!!!!!!
Reply to: pers-212636559@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-09-26, 4:40PM CDT

When in the hell will all you pathetic people stop feeling sorry for yourselves? It’s sickening! It’s your fault for living in a city below sea level, news flash hurricane happen every year in that part of the country and always have. It looks like the NFL is going to set the stage for a Super Bowl run, after that completely set up game by the NFL to let the Saints win their home opener. The rest of America hates the people of New Orleans! I hope an even bigger hurricane completely destroys your city in the next few weeks, or even better a huge meteor whips you all out!