New Orleans’ Super Bowl Championship
…and a new mayor…now here comes Mardi Gras! Laissez les bon temps rouler, baby!
Seriously, it’s hard to say how much of an impact both of these events — the game and the election — might mean in the long run.
I lived through the Detroit riots of 1967 and the subsequent World Series Championship that the Detroit Tigers won in 1968.
[Note: The day they clinched the Series, downtown Detroit saw a scene only rivaled, I'm told, by VJ Day. I'll never forget it.]
Back then, there was a lot of talk about how the victory was a real lift for the city and its residents. But looking back on it now, it didn’t mark a turning point of any significance.
Will it be different for New Orleans? I hope it will be. In many ways, New Orleans has a lot more going for it than Detroit. Tourism (and the associated business from conventions) is a much bigger part of the city’s economy than it ever was for Detroit. And that’s coming back strong after this win.
But New Orleans also has at least one thing in common with Detroit: both cities are largely reliant on the internal combustion engine. Think about it: Detroit made cars and New Orleans shipped the oil and gas. Who’s to say our kids may not look back on all of that as a quaint relic of a bygone era?
But for now, this is New Orleans’ glorious moment in the sun. Not quite five years after the catastrophe of Katrina, the city is back and rocking out! Between now and Mardi Gras Day on Feb. 16, the region will be riding a high seldom seen in decades past. Laissez les bon temps rouler, baby! Let the good times roll!
| Saints Fans Celebrate Super Bowl Victory on Bourbon Street |
