Blogs Jeff Crouere NEW ORLEANS SCORES AGAIN WITH ARENA BOWL | NEW ORLEANS SCORES AGAIN WITH ARENA BOWL |
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| By Ken Trahan | |
| Monday, July 28 2008 | |
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As the old saying used to go with regard to the now defunct Washington Senators of the American League--"first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League." The Senators were a doormat in the American League from 1901-1960 and from 1961-1971. A lack of support, largely tied to a lack of winning, enabled the franchise to relocate twice.
In 1960, the franchise would relocate to Minnesota, becoming the Twins. In 1971, the team moved to Arlington, becoming the Texas Rangers. Of course, our nation's capital now has a franchise once again, with the Washington Nationals moving to D.C. from Montreal. Appropriately, this Washington team is last in the National League East and has the worst record in the National League. When it comes to New Orleans and Louisiana, we still rank near the bottom in education and crime, but we certainly rank first in how to throw a party. This past weekend was no exception. Arena Bowl 22 was a smashing success. On the field, the Philadelphia Soul survived a last minute scare to hold off the San Jose SaberCats 59-56 to win their first league championship. For the second straight year, the game was a sellout (17,244) though there were many empty seats at New Orleans Arena. A national television audience viewed the event on ABC-TV. What they saw was a city once again doing a fine job hosting a big event. What they also saw was a city and region continuing to recover, looking better than it did at last year's event. New Orleans is open for business and things are improving despite the snail's pace of repairs and Road Home money. Watching the telecast, there was virtually no mention or evidence of the event of August 29, 2005. Finally! Let's move on! God-willing, there will be no more events of that magnitude in our lifetime. This will allow our economy, our residents, our population-base, and our collective psyche to recover. In the meantime, New Orleans continues to be perhaps the ultimate destination location for big sporting events. The Bayou Classic, the State Farm High School State Football Championships (record attendance), the New Orleans Bowl, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the BCS National Championship Game, the NBA All-Star Game, the Zurich Classic and now Arena Bowl 22 have gone off in flawless fashion. In the process, the national events have garnered enormous critical success in the review department. Such was the case with Arena Bowl 22. While the game that was exciting, long, and in doubt until the final seconds, the week that was in New Orleans was virtually overshadowed by the abrupt, shocking resignation of Arena Bowl Commissioner David Baker. The gentle giant, who had taken Arena Football to lofty new heights during his 12-year tenure, had announced that he was stepping away last Friday. Baker served the league in a tremendous capacity in terms of elevating fan support, creating stable franchises, luring NFL ownership, creating star-power ownership (see Mike Ditka, John Elway, John Bon Jovi and Ron Jaworski), a solid television contract, creating Arena 2 Football and starting neutral site title games in successful fashion. Baker was a huge friend to New Orleans, placing the 2007 AFL title game here and returning the game here this year in an attempt to help rebuild the economy. He is so bullish on New Orleans that he has proposed making New Orleans part of a regular five-city rotation to host the Arena Bowl. He helped return the VooDoo to New Orleans after a year's hiatus following Katrina. He served New Orleans in a fashion similar, if not in superior fashion, to the way that former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue served the region in essentially imposing his will to have the Saints return to New Orleans following Katrina. He will be missed and will always be appreciated for his efforts in restoring the VooDoo and New Orleans. As we speak, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tulane University, The University of New Orleans and the AllState Sugar Bowl are combining efforts in an attempt to lure a Men's Final Four, a Women's Final Four and a Super Bowl to New Orleans. A new configuration for the Superdome will help efforts to get the Final Four back for the first time since 2003. New Orleans is in hot pursuit of obtaining the 2012 Final Four. The Women's Final Four was last here in 2004 and remains a viable possibility to return in the next several years. With regard to the Super Bowl, New Orleans has widely been regarded as the game's best site due to entertainment, culture, and easy commutes for teams and fans from hotels to event sites. New Orleans has hosted nine Super Bowls overall, last hosting in 2002. The earliest it will host again is 2013. The longest previous gap between hosting the big game here was seven years (1990-1997). The city and the Saints intend to bid on that game but the sticking point remains the future of the Saints in New Orleans. The team's current lease expires in 2010. Talks between the Saints and the Superdome Commission, chaired by Ron Forman, are underway. An extension or permanent solution will have to be reached for the Saints to put forth the effort to lure the big game here. Obviously, if there is no NFL franchise here, there is no big game here. Without a doubt, we can pound our chests for another outstanding show with Arena Bowl 22. People enjoyed themselves. The entertainment and culture were terrific. Safety was no concern as there were no incidents. The game was entertaining and compelling. The team with the sexy ownership got the win. Now, it's time to get busy pounding the pavement to solve our education and crime issues through social activism, arresting the brain-drain of our brightest minds, and by electing sharp, educated, innovative, honest persons who will be pro-active in enacting sound, successful policies that will benefit our children and our children's children. Why should tourists have all of the fun here? May we long for the day that we can be first in education, first in lack of crime, and first in the NFL, NBA, or Arena Football! Bookmark       |
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