The struggles of the Saints are particularly painful. There are so many bad things in this city, say

March Madness Bounties And Basketball: Mixed Final Four Feelings In New Orleans While college basketball celebrates a championship in New Orleans, residents of the city are still smarting about the Saints. By Sean Gregory | @seanmgregory hot rod power tour 1998 | March 30, 2012 | +
Sure, the citizens of New Orleans are excited for Final Four weekend: it s the fifth time the Big Easy has hosted the college basketball championship, and this is the city s first Final Four since Hurricane Katrina. (The Final Four was last held in New Orleans in 2003). The Kentucky-Louisville match-up is a blessing: seas of rabid fans from the Bluegrass State, clad in blue (Kentucky) and red (Louisville), will make the somewhat reasonable hot rod power tour 1998 11-hour drive to New Orleans.
hot rod power tour 1998 As if Kentuckians needed any more reasons to attend this Final Four aren t state-wide bragging rights enough? the Louisiana Derby, a key prep race for the May 5 Kentucky hot rod power tour 1998 Derby, is being held on Sunday, the day between the national hot rod power tour 1998 semifinals and championship game.
The New Orleans Convention Bureau estimates that the Final Four will bring between $120-140 million in economic activity to the city. And while these types of estimates tend to be inflated, there s no denying that the extra-foot traffic will benefit many businesses in this still-struggling city.
At the same time as New Orleans gets festive hot rod power tour 1998 for the Final Four, however, the hard-luck city has taken yet another psychological beating, thanks to the bounty scandal involving the New Orleans Saints, and to a lesser extent, hot rod power tour 1998 the struggles of the downtrodden New Orleans Hornets. A little over two years ago, the Saints were Super Bowl champs: the victory gave the city a spiritual lift that residents insist was real, not a media cliché. We live for football, Charlie Koehl, 53, a mechanic for Entergy, the energy company, said on Thursday while taking a break on Magazine Street. The Hornets, though they were in the early stages of a descent that would result in the NBA having to assume ownership of the team, and star point guard Chris Paul wanting to flee town, were coming off two straight playoff appearances and Paul was a favorite son.
Now, the Saints are scandalous. The NFL suspended Sean Payton for a season because of his failure to stop New Orleans practice of giving players cash rewards for injuring opponents. He also misled NFL investigators hot rod power tour 1998 about the bounty program.
The struggles of the Saints are particularly painful. There are so many bad things in this city, says Darnell Marrero, a hotel bellhop. The Saints are one of the good things, and with Payton being suspended, it s like a family member being taken away. New Orleans residents direct the frustration at both the Saints, and the NFL. They should hot rod power tour 1998 know better than to do that, says Davis, talking about the Saints bounty program. I really feel betrayed. Davis no longer savors that Super Bowl title in the same way.
He s far from alone. hot rod power tour 1998 Many in New Orleans hot rod power tour 1998 also feel NFL commissioner Roger Goodell s year-long suspension of Payton (which begins this Sunday April 1) was too severe. If the Saints don t win under an unfamiliar interim coach Bill Parcells, whom Payton may ask to take over, or anyone else the fans will feel the most hurt. And they don t need another kick in the gut.
The timing is unfortunate too: New Orleans is hosting the Super Bowl this season. hot rod power tour 1998 Imagine if the Saints became the first home team to win the big game, in the Superdome, in the first New Orleans Super Bowl after Katrina? After the suspensions, that dream could be crushed.
hot rod power tour 1998 Related hot rod power tour 1998 Topics: final four , Kentucky , Louisville , New Orleans , New Orleans Saints , NFL , Roger Goodell , Super Bowl , College Sports , March Madness email print share Facebook Twitter Tumblr LinkedIn StumbleUpon Reddit Digg Mixx Del.i.cious
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