Good For New Orleans

Last night I caught part of the re-opening of the Louisiana Superdome, and the first football game played in New Orleans since the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 13 months ago. Over 70,000 fans packed the dome, which was refurbished to the tune of $185 million. The Saints won their third straight game (matching their win total of 2005) over the Atlanta Falcons, 23-3.

The city of New Orleans still has a long way to go to come back from the devastation, but the Saints being back sends a signal to the rest of the country that the city is indeed back in business. Last night was one large celebration for the city, and I'm sure New Orleans, which I had the pleasure of visiting twice (in 2001 and 2002), will be back, and better than ever.

It was a rather depressing football weekend, NFL-wise. The Vikings blew a 16-12 lead over Chicago with three minutes left, as the Bears recovered a fumble at the Vikings 30 and turned it into a game-winning TD, 19-16. The Vikings are 2-1, and play at Buffalo next Sunday.

The Giants? Less said about that disaster the better. My friends who are Patriots fans suffered through a 17-7 loss at home to Denver, a team that Tom Brady just can't seem to beat. At least the Jets won in Buffalo, 28-20, to go up, 2-1 in the AFC East.