NOLA Lives

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.