gameFACE
11-09-2005, 11:20 PM
I'm surprised this wasn't already posted in here. Read it during lunch today.
The Water Cooler: Next time, seek ear of Commish
Web Posted: 11/09/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
THE WATER COOLER: QUENCHING YOUR THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE
From it's spot in the Express-News sports department the water cooler dispenses opinions on all varieties of sports topics.
The Saints are going back to Louisiana. Good for them.
The truth serum in all this — and goodness knows it needed one — was force majeure. Tom Benson came face to face with force majeure last week. He blinked and he buckled. And his San Antonio rose wilted.
Now, the only question left unanswered in the Saints/San Antonio saga is how much humiliation the mayor and local leaders plan to suffer until they admit the obvious: The courtship of the Saints is over.
And if it ever resumes — say in 2007, which it might if New Orleans hasn't recovered — the city's amorous overtures should be pitched at one person. Not Tom Benson. The only pucker that matters is Paul Tagliabue's.
The Saints are going to try to make a go of it in Louisiana. That's the clear message that came out of discussions last week between Benson, the NFL, the governor of Louisiana and Superdome Commission members. (Note that the list of conferees included no one from San Antonio.) In the words of one commission member, an agreement was reached that "requires" the Saints to play in Louisiana in 2006. An attorney involved said the NFL has guaranteed that scenario.
That's great. Weeks ago, WC stood up for Benson's right to relocate his business wherever he feels he can do business, the same as any New Orleans roofer, teacher or cab driver. Now everyone in San Antonio must respect Benson's decision — however much forced by the NFL — to see if he can make things work in Louisiana.
For San Antonio, the "do's" and "don't's" are now easy to figure out. We "do" pat him on the back, wish him well and start booking the Alamodome for 2006 events. We "don't" do anything to try and talk him out of it.
It's unfortunate Benson and his representatives have been less than forthcoming with the local media and with city officials. Benson lost leverage by going stealth in the aftermath of one of the most visible events in history. Tagliabue, by simply taking the podium, reduced Benson to the ranks of a conniving riverboat gambler. It was true from the start, perhaps, that Benson has Black Water in his veins.
And Black Water flows one way — toward the Big Easy.
It's important to remember: the S.A. Saints adventure was initiated by Benson. He contacted local leaders in the spring to propose relocation. Then Katrina hit and Benson landed here, swearing he wanted to stay. City leaders offered to see what could be done — the honorable thing to do.
From the beginning, the entire S.A. Saints concept was only as viable as the intentions of an embattled and embittered man, pelted with abuse from a distraught state and frustrated by his own lack of spine in confrontations with the NFL's chief puppeteer. Through it all, our city housed his team, paid his bills, absorbed misdirected "vulture" accusations and other assorted arrows.
No problem. Whether or not San Antonio is a small market, we're big boys. We can take it. We got to see some football, drink some beer and eat some jambalaya. We had fun. But after the Saints play the Lions on Christmas Eve in the Alamodome, this party is over.
Benson will go home and see if he can work things out. And if he comes calling again in 2007, pleading displacement and begging for a new umbrella rack, city officials should call Tagliabue and see what he thinks.
Or city leaders can continue to tug at Benson's coat and thereby seize the one opportunity that remains — to actually act like vultures.
The Water Cooler: Next time, seek ear of Commish
Web Posted: 11/09/2005 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
THE WATER COOLER: QUENCHING YOUR THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE
From it's spot in the Express-News sports department the water cooler dispenses opinions on all varieties of sports topics.
The Saints are going back to Louisiana. Good for them.
The truth serum in all this — and goodness knows it needed one — was force majeure. Tom Benson came face to face with force majeure last week. He blinked and he buckled. And his San Antonio rose wilted.
Now, the only question left unanswered in the Saints/San Antonio saga is how much humiliation the mayor and local leaders plan to suffer until they admit the obvious: The courtship of the Saints is over.
And if it ever resumes — say in 2007, which it might if New Orleans hasn't recovered — the city's amorous overtures should be pitched at one person. Not Tom Benson. The only pucker that matters is Paul Tagliabue's.
The Saints are going to try to make a go of it in Louisiana. That's the clear message that came out of discussions last week between Benson, the NFL, the governor of Louisiana and Superdome Commission members. (Note that the list of conferees included no one from San Antonio.) In the words of one commission member, an agreement was reached that "requires" the Saints to play in Louisiana in 2006. An attorney involved said the NFL has guaranteed that scenario.
That's great. Weeks ago, WC stood up for Benson's right to relocate his business wherever he feels he can do business, the same as any New Orleans roofer, teacher or cab driver. Now everyone in San Antonio must respect Benson's decision — however much forced by the NFL — to see if he can make things work in Louisiana.
For San Antonio, the "do's" and "don't's" are now easy to figure out. We "do" pat him on the back, wish him well and start booking the Alamodome for 2006 events. We "don't" do anything to try and talk him out of it.
It's unfortunate Benson and his representatives have been less than forthcoming with the local media and with city officials. Benson lost leverage by going stealth in the aftermath of one of the most visible events in history. Tagliabue, by simply taking the podium, reduced Benson to the ranks of a conniving riverboat gambler. It was true from the start, perhaps, that Benson has Black Water in his veins.
And Black Water flows one way — toward the Big Easy.
It's important to remember: the S.A. Saints adventure was initiated by Benson. He contacted local leaders in the spring to propose relocation. Then Katrina hit and Benson landed here, swearing he wanted to stay. City leaders offered to see what could be done — the honorable thing to do.
From the beginning, the entire S.A. Saints concept was only as viable as the intentions of an embattled and embittered man, pelted with abuse from a distraught state and frustrated by his own lack of spine in confrontations with the NFL's chief puppeteer. Through it all, our city housed his team, paid his bills, absorbed misdirected "vulture" accusations and other assorted arrows.
No problem. Whether or not San Antonio is a small market, we're big boys. We can take it. We got to see some football, drink some beer and eat some jambalaya. We had fun. But after the Saints play the Lions on Christmas Eve in the Alamodome, this party is over.
Benson will go home and see if he can work things out. And if he comes calling again in 2007, pleading displacement and begging for a new umbrella rack, city officials should call Tagliabue and see what he thinks.
Or city leaders can continue to tug at Benson's coat and thereby seize the one opportunity that remains — to actually act like vultures.