Muhammad Abu-Rmaileh
Telling the people to leave New Orleans was like telling a falcon to swim, it can't. Louisiana has the highest percentage of people remaining in the same state they were born in (79%). Their money, family, friends, and identity were tied to their homes. Yet the rest of the country chose to ignore these ties and instead saw the amount of work that they didn't want to do. They saw New Orleans' poverty and sickness and were horrified. To many people at home, they saw the pictures on TV and couldn't believe what they saw, it wasn't America. But it was. It was America's failures staring it back in the face. Institutionalized racism and poverty have been apart of America, the only difference was that cameras were there to capture it. So what do people do when they something looks bad? They throw it out. Many were encouraged to leave and not return, but no one listened. And that's what the Saints came to embody. In light of more opportune places, the Saints came home, and then proceeded to win and win big. In 2006, the Saints won the NFC South and went to the NFC Championship game. They gradually progressed until they won the championship in 2010. Feel good is befitting of this moment. However, it was more than that. It was New Orleans telling America it didn't care what it thought, but that it was here to stay. After all, everyone needed their team to root for, and the Saints were that underdog. They were the team that made you forget all of your troubles, but still remember how you can come back from adversity.