Ball 5

Author: Justin Golenbock

The handling of the controversy surrounding the New Orleans Saints' uncertain future seems poised to define the righteous reign of Paul Tagliabue, the current NFL commissioner who announced on Monday that the 2005 LSU/San Antonio Saints would return to the Louisiana Superdome and remain based in New Orleans for at least the 2006 season. The league's decision comes on the heels of Tagliabue's recent tour of the city's reconstruction, which included stops in the highly publicized Ninth Ward, Lakeview and eastern New Orleans neighborhoods, as well as the Superdome and Saints' practice facilities.

Tagliabue, who has largely resisted expansion while quietly engineering the NFL's meteoric rise as the highest rated professional sport in America, has continually preached patience and cooperation with local civic and business partners while promising to examine every alternative to abandoning the city. In sidestepping the embarrassing PR black eye that Owner Tom Benson's permanent move to San Antonio would have given the league, the Commish continues to perform masterful work.

The reality that has not gone unrecognized by either the league or the state of Louisiana is that New Orleans was one of sports' worst economic markets even before the hurricane. The Saints' fan-base, though passionate, is comparatively impoverished and cannot afford to "support" a team to the same extent as wealthier communities to the east and west. But though the move makes conventional economic sense, Benson's potential abandonment of one of sport's most iconic stadiums in a city in great need has sparked resistance throughout a league that many feel hasn't recovered its image since Art Modell's move from Cleveland.

Despite the Saints' continuing mediocrity, the character of its players has been shown through their response to the hurricane. Their displaced desire for home is personified by the charismatic receiver Joe Horn, whose public yearning for home risks the wrath of an owner who has fired executives who are in favor of returning to New Orleans. The transformation of the cell-phone celebrator in the face of adversity is marked in a sport that disconnected individual players from their fans since the inception of free agency. Saints Center LeCharles Bentley spoke for his team when he responded to playing in Louisiana: "Tiger Stadium doesn't feel like the Dome, but it's the same thing. We have our fans, and that's the important thing-that our fans can see us play."

Tagliabue backed Benson off his unsubstantiated claim that the state's practice facilities have become unusable (they were undamaged), and even prodded the man into attending one of his own games at LSU's stadium in Baton Rouge (he had sworn never to attend again). Though its hold is tenuous, New Orleans will have its Saints back in 2006, and with them the backing of a man who can wait for a downed city to get back on its feet.