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Thanks you Saints. Away from Texas you go.
The Saints leaving SA?? THANK GOD!!!!
Now maybe all those "SAints" t-shirts can go where they belong.................the trash!!!
Thanks you Saints. Away from Texas you go.
You know how I look? Do I have a stalker on my hands?
San Antonio finds a silver lining
City feels it's in better position to get a team
Saturday, December 31, 2005
By Mike Triplett
Staff writer
SAN ANTONIO -- NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue broke the news to San Antonio on Friday that the Saints would be moving out of town for next season, but he did show great appreciation to the Alamo City and offered the city a greater hope than ever before that it might one day be in the running for an NFL franchise.
"I guess the sense I have is that if we ever get around to considering expansion in the NFL, that San Antonio would be on anyone's short list," Tagliabue said. "As you all know, we don't currently have expansion under consideration. But at some point the likelihood is the league would get to those kinds of issues."
Those words were a far cry from the more dismissive statements Tagliabue made about San Antonio in September, when he said the NFL had no interest in "moving any teams into small markets."
Tagliabue said he has noticed the economic and corporate growth of San Antonio, even in the past four years since he met with former mayor Ed Garza to discuss the city's NFL feasibility.
Tagliabue cited the business presence's of Toyota and AT&T, among others in San Antonio.
"I have a pretty good understanding, I think, of how the area is growing and what it represents. Needless to say, we've also been aware of the NBA's success here, and the Final Four and so many other events," said Tagliabue, who met Thursday night in San Antonio with former mayor Henry Cisneros, who is known as the "father of the Alamodome" because of his efforts to bring an NFL team to town when the building was constructed in 1993.
Saints owner Tom Benson went even farther than Tagliabue, offering strong praise for the city that took in his football team after Katrina.
"I would like to state for the record that we would not have been able to field a team or continue to play the 2005 season or the 2006 season if it weren't for the political leadership of San Antonio, the business support of San Antonio and most importantly the diehard football fans of San Antonio," Benson said. "San Antonio made this team and our organization feel entirely at home. And what I have known about this great city for years was proven to the rest of the world over the past few months. San Antonio has compassion, enthusiasm, character, charm determination and grit - all qualities that make this city a world-class, NFL-caliber city. And I'm confident that we'll one day soon in some way shape or form become a reality and have an NFL club."
San Antonio still would have to prove it could support two professional franchises, and any NFL team would likely demand a new stadium to replace the already-outdated Alamodome.
City leaders believe they at least showed that the interest from the fan base and the business community are ample. The Saints sold more than 60,000 tickets to each of their three home games at the Alamodome this season.
San Antonio officials took Tagliabue's announcement in stride Friday.
A return to New Orleans had been expected for some time, and city leaders have insisted that their efforts this year were more about proving a point to the NFL than specifically luring the Saints.
To that end, they believe they accomplished their goal.
"No doubt about it. It was reflected in the commissioner's words today," said Christian Archer, a special assistant to San Antonio mayor Phil Hardberger and the point man in the city's NFL dealings.
Hardberger, who was on vacation and unavailable for comment, released a statement.
"All along, this was going to be a decision made by the NFL and the Saints organization, and of course I respect the decision they've made," the statement said. "Our city welcomed the Saints and supported them when they did not have a home. Our only goal was to prove to the NFL that San Antonio is a city that is ready for a team, and we have done that.
". . . Whether it is professional baseball or the NFL, owners around the country are turning their attention to San Antonio. There's no longer any doubt that San Antonio is a city on the move."
Hardberger and other officials also met with the Florida Marlins earlier this month about a possible relocation. Archer said four professional sports franchises have contacted San Antonio this year to test the waters, based largely on the city's impressive response to hosting the Saints.
The Saints remain a possibility for San Antonio in 2007 or beyond.
The NFL and the Saints are trying to make things work in New Orleans, but if the post-Katrina community cannot support an NFL franchise, or does not want to support Benson, then San Antonio would be a top alternative.
"It would be hard to speculate on that today, but I hope if any team in the league is thinking about relocating, they would look to San Antonio," Archer said.
Tagliabue and Benson, along with Saints coach Jim Haslett, receiver Joe Horn and others, were all highly complimentary of San Antonio's efforts to host the Saints on such short notice in the wake of Katrina's impact during the final week of the preseason.
"Everybody from the fans to the mayor to other elected officials and the business community have been pretty outstanding, and we're very grateful for what they did," said Tagliabue, who said it was unfortunate that so many San Antonio officials seemed to feel slighted and disrespected by him as this year went on. "I think the unfortunate part is that in the context of being for a loyal commitment to Louisiana, some people have construed that as being against San Antonio. That's not the case."
Haslett and Horn said San Antonio would be very deserving of its own NFL franchise.
"The people bent over backwards for us," Haslett said. "It's a great city and a first-class city."
Said Horn, who bought a house in San Antonio and moved his family to the area this season: "Hopefully they get a NFL football team because they damn well deserve it. I love San Antonio. I'll always have a special place in my heart for San Antonio because of the way they opened their arms to us.
"I may keep my house here, so I can come back in the offseason and play golf."
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