By: Eric Dunbar
Submitted: 2010-08-30 19:43:20 | Word Count: 593
The city of New Orleans has struggled since that awful day--August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the "City That Care Forgot". The residents of this magnificent city have endured disaster and grief that most people cannot conceive of.
The New Orleans Saints have struggled even longer than the residents of New Orleans, but on February 7, 2010, the tide changed directions for the Saints as Drew Brees led the New Orleans Saints in a 31 - 17 victory over Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl XLIV rivalry.
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I can personally share in the pleasure that the city of New Orleans is celebrating with this history making event because I am a proud New Orleanian, exiled from the city that I love very much by the ravaging flood waters of Hurricane Katrina. While I no longer live in New Orleans, I am still connected to the people of New Orleans by virtue of my birth right, and today I can say to the New Orleans Saints boisterously and proudly, "Bless You Boys!"
America, the Saints ain't the Aint's no more!
What this team has done for the people of New Orleans can only be totally realized by a native of New Orleans.
Unlike the news media images you see of a recovering city, indicating that New Orleans is doing just fine, a twelve block stroll in either direction away from the Central Business district will tell a fairly different tale. As you walk through neighborhoods that were previously full of life, and not even observe a bird in the sky, it makes one speculate about the state of the hearts of these strong and courageous people. Throughout the entire city, neighborhoods lie in ruin as though Katrina struck the city on yesterday.
Where do the people of New Orleans get their confidence? Could it be that a exceptional degree of faith mixed with staying power is served in the Gumbo that the city is known for? Or maybe there is a supernatural magic personified in the two words, "Who Dat" that have become synonymous with the Who Dat Nation. Whatever the secret to their faith is, it has kept their spirits high and their hearts unwavering.
In winning the Super Bowl, the Saints have done the impossible. Not only have they risen above the likelihood as a team to win the utmost honors in the league, but in one speedy victory, the Saints have produced unseen victories in the hearts of thousands of residents who have been in personal battles for almost five years.
When the residents of New Orleans look around their beloved city and see images of the uncanny reminders of a past life that sometime appears as large as monoliths, no doubt it brings an uneasiness that assaults the very nucleus of their hope. It is difficult to hope when all you see is despair. But the New Orleans Saints have given the people of New Orleans a motive to smile.
So the next time your lamp of expectation gets dim, just think of the Who Dat Nation who has endured and prevailed, and say, if even for the moment...
I Believe.
Author Resource:-
Eric Dunbar is the owner and editor of Golden Entrepreneur, where you will find outstanding resources to help the online entrepreneur excel in business. Eric Dunbar is also the author of THE FACE OF A DEMON, referred to by many as “The Recovering Addict’s Handbook”, and editor of X-JOURNAL Blog
