Saints and Katrina (Espn.com)

TallySaint · 08-30-2005, 07:18 PM

Updated: Aug. 29, 2005, 11:41 PM ET

Aftermath of hurricane weighs on Saints' minds
By Alan Grant
Special to ESPN.com

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Katrina kicked them out of their house, so they ended up here. Here is the sloped, uneven practice field at San Jose State University, where the New Orleans Saints are calling home until further notice.

It looked and sounded like a routine practice. There was stretching, seven-on-seven, and team period. But when the final horn sounded Monday, and the players filed off the field, it was apparent that the Saints had suddenly become the league's only nomadic franchise.

Aaron Brooks and his displaced Saints teammates are concerned about what's to come once they return to New Orleans.
Defensive coordinator Rick Venturi slowly walked over to a bench, sat down and sighed. Not only is Venturi recovering from recent back surgery, the business of fleeing storms has become somewhat routine.

"It was about this time last year that we went to San Antonio to get away from Ivan," Venturi said. "I think we were lucky because it hit west instead of east."

Despite that bit of fortune, Venturi is rather matter of fact on his expectations. "I still expect our houses to be under water," he said.

Coach Jim Haslett had a similar view as he measured the predicament in relative terms. In recent days, the Superdome's structural foundation has been compared to Rome's infamous Coliseum, but after Hurricane Katrina's 145-mph winds sheared off portions of the dome's roof -- even ripped two holes in it -- that seems rather far-fetched.

"If something can happen to the Superdome," Haslett said, "imagine what the city must look like."

Story continues...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2146484

8)

spkb25 · 08-30-2005, 08:25 PM

jesus challenge your guys now. tell them that it is them against the world. that they have to do it for new orleans. **** anything to get them in the mood to win. christ i don't like the situation any better then anyone else but it is what it is. lets get to the talk of winning. lets get a sense that we need to win for the city. lets give the people some hope. man we cant get preoccupied with this. we all know that this is just a god aweful tragedy. i mean beyond what we would have imagined but **** i am not ready to tank the season. someone neesd to tell them to this for the fans. play your butts off and win. lets go. give the city some motivation. the hell with sitting down on a bench giving up and sighing. christ if the coaches are doing that what is a our team doing. lets go. they have a job to do and in doing it they can do it for the whole town of new orleans. they can give them hope that if they can go out and win then the city can be rebuilt. damn that attitude of sitting on a bench and sighing. get your asss in gear. lets go. the city needs this.

saintswhodi · 08-30-2005, 08:32 PM

I kinda understand your sentiment spk, but these are still human beings. They lost lives, and homes, and friends, and relatives like everyone else. I can't blame them if they feel down, or don't have their whole hearts in playing a game right now. I didn't feel like going to work either I felt so sick for all involved, so I don't blame them. It is not their duties to take our minds off anything. It would be nice if they did, but really, if they forfeited the season could you blame them? This is an enormous disaster, and these guys aren't robots at our beck and call. Let's be considerate to that.

spkb25 · 08-30-2005, 08:43 PM

brother i understand that, i can't imagie for the life of me what the city is going through. we lost power for a week two years ago and i had two tres fall in my yard and one clipped my house pretty good. and it was terrible. i can't imagine what the people and city of new orleans is going through. but loosing wont change it. not at all. but man if theese guys go 12-4 and make the superbowl it wont change what happened but it could lift spirits. man i know it is just a game. sometimes though sports teams can do that for a city. i know 100% that isnt thier job or what they should be focussed on but man i would use it only because i really feel it could work for the city. god i know it isn't going to change anything. i know that. but dang it might give the people some hope. get them energized. not the team but the people that live there. give them some hope. the city needs something. as much as it isnt the teams responsibility and it isnt the coach could use this as a reason to help them and the city. i truly believe that. it wont take away the real pain but it might give people a slight escape.

BoudinSandwich · 08-31-2005, 05:32 AM

I sort-of support the pride thing, too. I believe they should play in honor of the city.

Besides, winning the Super Bowl could definately be beneficial financially. Imagine people around the country buying Saints' merchandise.

Euphoria · 08-31-2005, 10:53 AM

Its sad to say but this is something the team could and should rally around... I mean do it for the city. Something to inspire a team... "The team without a home".

08-30-2005, 07:18 PM	#1
TallySaint 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tallahassee Posts: 1,367	Saints and Katrina (Espn.com) Updated: Aug. 29, 2005, 11:41 PM ET Aftermath of hurricane weighs on Saints' minds By Alan Grant Special to ESPN.com SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Katrina kicked them out of their house, so they ended up here. Here is the sloped, uneven practice field at San Jose State University, where the New Orleans Saints are calling home until further notice. It looked and sounded like a routine practice. There was stretching, seven-on-seven, and team period. But when the final horn sounded Monday, and the players filed off the field, it was apparent that the Saints had suddenly become the league's only nomadic franchise. Aaron Brooks and his displaced Saints teammates are concerned about what's to come once they return to New Orleans. Defensive coordinator Rick Venturi slowly walked over to a bench, sat down and sighed. Not only is Venturi recovering from recent back surgery, the business of fleeing storms has become somewhat routine. "It was about this time last year that we went to San Antonio to get away from Ivan," Venturi said. "I think we were lucky because it hit west instead of east." Despite that bit of fortune, Venturi is rather matter of fact on his expectations. "I still expect our houses to be under water," he said. Coach Jim Haslett had a similar view as he measured the predicament in relative terms. In recent days, the Superdome's structural foundation has been compared to Rome's infamous Coliseum, but after Hurricane Katrina's 145-mph winds sheared off portions of the dome's roof -- even ripped two holes in it -- that seems rather far-fetched. "If something can happen to the Superdome," Haslett said, "imagine what the city must look like." Story continues... http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2146484 8)

08-30-2005, 08:25 PM	#2
spkb25 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 13,097	RE: Saints and Katrina (Espn.com) jesus challenge your guys now. tell them that it is them against the world. that they have to do it for new orleans. ** anything to get them in the mood to win. christ i don't like the situation any better then anyone else but it is what it is. lets get to the talk of winning. lets get a sense that we need to win for the city. lets give the people some hope. man we cant get preoccupied with this. we all know that this is just a god aweful tragedy. i mean beyond what we would have imagined but ** i am not ready to tank the season. someone neesd to tell them to this for the fans. play your butts off and win. lets go. give the city some motivation. the hell with sitting down on a bench giving up and sighing. christ if the coaches are doing that what is a our team doing. lets go. they have a job to do and in doing it they can do it for the whole town of new orleans. they can give them hope that if they can go out and win then the city can be rebuilt. damn that attitude of sitting on a bench and sighing. get your asss in gear. lets go. the city needs this.

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08-30-2005, 08:32 PM	#3
saintswhodi 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 6,941	I kinda understand your sentiment spk, but these are still human beings. They lost lives, and homes, and friends, and relatives like everyone else. I can't blame them if they feel down, or don't have their whole hearts in playing a game right now. I didn't feel like going to work either I felt so sick for all involved, so I don't blame them. It is not their duties to take our minds off anything. It would be nice if they did, but really, if they forfeited the season could you blame them? This is an enormous disaster, and these guys aren't robots at our beck and call. Let's be considerate to that.

08-30-2005, 08:43 PM	#4
spkb25 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 13,097	brother i understand that, i can't imagie for the life of me what the city is going through. we lost power for a week two years ago and i had two tres fall in my yard and one clipped my house pretty good. and it was terrible. i can't imagine what the people and city of new orleans is going through. but loosing wont change it. not at all. but man if theese guys go 12-4 and make the superbowl it wont change what happened but it could lift spirits. man i know it is just a game. sometimes though sports teams can do that for a city. i know 100% that isnt thier job or what they should be focussed on but man i would use it only because i really feel it could work for the city. god i know it isn't going to change anything. i know that. but dang it might give the people some hope. get them energized. not the team but the people that live there. give them some hope. the city needs something. as much as it isnt the teams responsibility and it isnt the coach could use this as a reason to help them and the city. i truly believe that. it wont take away the real pain but it might give people a slight escape.

08-31-2005, 05:32 AM	#5
BoudinSandwich OldiesDJ Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Scott, LA Posts: 951 Blog Entries: 12	I sort-of support the pride thing, too. I believe they should play in honor of the city. Besides, winning the Super Bowl could definately be beneficial financially. Imagine people around the country buying Saints' merchandise.

08-31-2005, 10:53 AM	#6
Euphoria 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 7,601 Blog Entries: 5	Its sad to say but this is something the team could and should rally around... I mean do it for the city. Something to inspire a team... "The team without a home".