“The coming together of diametrically differing types of people, all glued to the same pitch or television screen…How can one activity – sport – unite such different strands of humanity?”
- Ed Smith, What Sport Tells Us About Life
All those who have ever dismissed sport as ‘just a game’ would be wise to spend some time absorbing the writings of Ed Smith. In a truly brilliant work on the place of sport within our modern lives, Smith discusses and examines sport in the widest possible context – all in order to learn more about the ‘game’ of life.
But not even he could have imagined how the narrative would play out in New Orleans in 2005/6, when an American football team proved to be the salvation of an entire town from deluge, devastation and ultimate destruction. It was a rare example of when sport not only united disparate strands of humanity, but re-built a completely broken city in the process.
The aptly named New Orleans Saints – the NFL’s Louisiana franchise – hit the UK headlines last week when they brought America’s number one sport to our fair shores, giving up a crucial regular season home game to bring football fever to London. But behind the glitz and glamour of the gridiron show that entertained 82,000 at Wembley, lies an intensely human story.
When Hurricane Katrina violently tore through the soul of Louisiana on 29 August 2005, claiming nearly 2,000 lives and causing $81.2m in damage, one would expect the local football team to be low on the list of priorities. Instead, the New Orleans Saints became the focus of recovery for the city and Katrina’s many thousands of victims.
The giant structure that the Saints had previously called home, the Louisiana Superdome, had been all but destroyed. But because it provided such a central beacon for the community, Louisiana’s then Governor made its restoration a top priority for the city’s relief effort. Doug Thornton, the Superdome’s General Manager, has explained why:
“The dome was a poster child for misery and suffering. We knew if we could turn it around and make it a symbol of rebirth that would provide inspiration and hope for the city and send a message to the rest of the world that New Orleans is back.”
The players themselves became ambassadors for the cause. The Saints’ golden boy, running back Reggie Bush, spearheaded a campaign to rebuild a High School football stadium in City Park, following major damage suffered during the hurricane. The rookie’s significant financial backing to the project came shortly after being drafted by the team and before he had even set foot on a football field as a fully-fledged Saint.
The Times’ Martin Fletcher’s moving experience of his time with the team this summer provides an intense snapshot of the players’ phenomenal efforts to put their city back on the map:
“One player, Joe Horn, was so distressed by the plight of refugees shopping in a Houston Wal-Mart soon after Katrina that he went up to the cashiers, gave them his credit card and said: “Give these people whatever they need.” Another, Ernie Conwell, bought an engagement ring for a man whose distressed wife had lost hers in the storm.
A third, Steve Gleason, bought 2,000 backpacks and filled them with pens and paper for children returning to school. Yet another, Deuce McAllister, takes 100 children shopping each Christmas.
Some players have discreetly slipped cash to hard-up parents so that they can take their children out for a meal.”
Clearly much, much more than a mandatory PR exercise. The numerous gracious, thankful and emotional comments and dedications posted in response to Fletcher’s piece by those who lived through the horror of it all, speak volumes about how vividly he captured the immensity of the Saints’ efforts for their city. As quarterback Drew Brees told him during an interview, fans don’t run up to players and congratulate them on a great game – instead they thank them deeply for being part of the city.
In his book, Ed Smith describes the utter immersion in a sporting spectacle as akin to following a novel’s narrative, ‘sharing a journey, caring deeply about something we cannot change’ – that ultimately, can extend our human sympathy.
The Saints cared so deeply about their extended adopted family of New Orleans that they did all within their power to make sure the narrative of their city was changed. America’s number one sport beat on as the heart of a devastated city, and New Orleans’ very own Saints extended their own human sympathy beyond all expectation.
By Lucie Bartlett on November 3rd, 2008
Tags: American football, NFL, community
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