The Night ESPN Saved Mardi Gras

You guys knew I would keep harping on this, and gess what; I am.

Again, I understand--big moment for New Orleans, uplifting for the fans, etc., etc.

But I'm sorry. No one likes the guy who says this. Everyone sees it coming. It's a cliche. But it has to be said.

It's a fucking football game.

REPEAT--It's a fucking football game. It cannot be emphasized enough.

Homegrown music legends singing "The Star Spangled Banner"--a classy touch. Having a former president leading a massive relief effort perform the coin flip--also classy. Turning tragedy into an overblown publicity stunt--less classy. Opening montages playing on over-the-top stereotypes of the region and poor, southern blacks--not touching. Selling a FUCKING FOOTBALL GAME as a legitimate, singular moment in the resurrection of a city that in some places was, and still remains, utterly DESTROYED--misrepresentative, not classy, not touching.

I think this whole thing stinks for two reasons (which I already articulated before but will repeat):

1) The theatrics leading up to the game were clearly, in part, the doing of people who saw the event as an opportunity to make themselves feel important while stripping away the solemn reality of the situation. Remember--there's a little backstory involved here, and it doesn't exactly have a resolution. Not any to celebrate at least.

2) The theatrics very much gloss over the fact that a vast, vast majority of the affected individuals simply do not care about the Saints. For these people, they will wake up tomorrow knowing that life right now sucks just as much as it did when they woke up this morning. And even for those victims that have been heartened by the national spotlight this week, life will suck for them also, just as it did a week ago or a month ago. Only there won't be any ESPN around to celebrate their courage and culture in overwrought Disney imagery.

I agree--I hate when I get all self-righteous and shit like this as much as anyone else does. But I think what I'm saying is a very legitimate flip-side to this phoenix-from-the-dust hooey that every media outlet has pinned to tonight's game. I'm not saying I only see this one side of it. In fact, I'm rarely convinced of any opinion I share, but it doesn't mean they're not worth sharing. Because there's always someone else that does feel it.


...On a positive note: Matt, Gavin, and Nate--I guess we can all feel even better about blowing a couple hundred bucks we didn't have in the French Quarter this spring. Did you hear what Tony Kornheiser said? What New Orleans wants most of all is our tourism dollars! Done and done.

(Woooo! Spring break!)