I have a t-shirt that reads “NOLA LIVES” on the front with the date “August 29, 2005” on the back.
Actually, I have two. I bought them to support the relief efforts in my hometown.
The date marks the worst day in the history of New Orleans, which actually says a lot since it is one of the oldest cities on this continent that has been battered by wars, crime and corruption.
It was the day the rains came that would break the levees from a hurricane rarely ever called by name by the residents of the city. It is simply known as “the storm.”
I cried that day and the days that followed. I shed tears for my hometown as the images of devastation and horror continued to flash across the 24-hour news coverage. I was nearly 1,000 miles away in my apartment in Chicago. But I wanted to be in New Orleans so I could help for I feared my city was dying.
New Orleans didn’t die. No, she has shown her resilience and bounced back. NOLA lives.
Now the city has a new date to remember: January 24, 2010. It is the greatest day in the city’s almost three centuries of existence. It’s the day the Saints became champions of the National Football Conference.
I cried that day too.
It is quite the dichotomy and almost amazing that these two dates occurred less than five years apart. And the Louisiana Superdome figures prominently in both.
I have never seen a community who cares so much about its football team like New Orleans. And I have a lot of experience with football-obsessed towns. I graduated from Jenks.
The apropos team for the fans devotion is “faith” — faith for those heavenly Saints. They often bring joy on Sundays and help us get through the week. They fight on the field to give the city hope for a better day. And the fans pray to them on a regular basis.
In a city tattered by a racial past, the Saints unite New Orleans in such a unique way. It’s no longer about black and white. It’s about black and gold.
The city has literally shut down during the Saints great run through the playoffs. There is nothing better to do except cheer on the hometown team.
The Saints have served as a great allegory for New Orleans. Founded in 1967, the team didn’t have its first winning season until two decades later. The answer to the Cajun-accented question “who dat say gonna beat dem Saints” was anyone and everyone.
It took another 13 years before the first playoff victory. Then nine more until the Saints were no longer on the shortlist of teams never to make the Super Bowl. The Saints, like the city, were always down but never out. The year of the storm, the Saints held the league’s second-worst record. Now they hold the second-best.
I often thought being a Saints fan was akin to being a Cubs fan. The Saints were the lovable losers of the NFL, with the unaffectionate moniker “the Aint’s.” As a kid, I attended games where fans regularly wore paper bags over their heads.
But at least the Cubs have won a world championship, though more than a century ago. Of course, that may soon change.
As Super Bowl XVIV looms, so does another chance for history to be made. If the Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts, February 7, 2010, will become the greatest day in the history of the city.
I’m sure I’ll cry.
And not a single Saints fan will want to be in Miami, the site of the Super Bowl. Nope. They’d rather be three states west on the banks of the mighty Mississippi for the greatest celebration ever seen in Louisiana.
They’d rather be in the City that Care Forgot, but the Saints did not. They’d rather be in the shadow of the Superdome with its past of joys and sorrows. They’d rather be in the city the champions of the National Football League call home.
They’re rather be in New Orleans, for NOLA will be alive.
First off, do you think Juliet's final words were "it worked?" Shame on you if you do! Shame on you! Shame on you! After all we've been through with Lost, how dare you accept Miles' declaration that Juliet's final words were "it worked" so easily? Sawyer was distraught at losing his love, desperate for condolence in his vulnerable time. He thought he could get that from Miles, which Miles initially said wasn't possible. But Sawyer persisted. Miles felt he had no choice and he produced the words "it worked," words that Sawyer could find comfort in that she did not die in vain. Any friend or loyal coworker would act no differently in a situation like that. Do I believe Miles really heard these words? Not for an instant.
Second, I initially thought Jacob had re-manifested himself in Sayid's body. But then I got to thinking more and that would be a little too obvious. That's when I realized it wasn't Jacob that Hurley was talking to beside the van. It was very clear to me that it was Smokey. Obviously he has the power to take the form of the dead, so Jacob would be fair game now. By the Others' response to the news that Jacob is dead, it seems like that Smokey might be coming to infiltrate the Temple. So, as Jacob, Smokey convinces Hurley to take a dying Sayid into the Temple, where Sayid in fact dies. Now, Smokey is free to take Sayid's form, thus infiltrating the Temple. The lingering question is to what endgame.
Now, to my biggest and boldest thought from last night. We seemingly have two points in time that we can accept as reality. Point A is 1977 and Point B is 2007. However, how we get from Point A to Point B is not definitive and there are many tracks that could have taken us there, just like you can take a different route to the grocery and back home. I think one course is the events we saw unfold in the first seasons of Lost. I believe another course will be shown during Season 6. These "flash-sideways" are taking place in 2004, but will eventually lead to Point B and the events we are seeing unfold on the Island.
To me, this is a grander scale of the course-correction that we saw unfold with Charlie. "Ya gonna die, Charlie." Though Desmond saw it happen in various flashes, it eventually did happen, something deemed inescapable. Perhaps what we are seeing in 2007 is fate, something that will happen. Now we are seeing how we are getting to that point, one way or another.
I think the seeds are in place for all the castaways to go back to Sydney on a plane together. Jack has to go back to find his father's body. Kate kidnaps Claire and they get on a plane together to escape the law. Hurley must go back to check on his chicken franchises. Jin and Sun are refused entrances in the U.S. And must fly back. Locke, perhaps emboldened by Jack's thought that "nothing is irreversible," flies to Australia to try the walkabout again.
And I think Charlie's suicide attempt might be the biggest wink to this possibility because, in fact, "Ya gonna die, Charlie." Death is already chasing him.
So maybe they all get on a plane again in the "flash-sideways" only to crash land on the island. Perhaps the crash occurs while Widmore is trying to raise the island from the bottom of the ocean, which sucks the plane to the ground with some sort of electromagnetic shenanigans. Whatever happens, I think the "flash-sideways" will simply show that "nothing is reversible" and that this would all happen one way or another. Thus, the original continuity man simply remain intact.
Food for thought. Here's to a great season!
