NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- As rock bands blasted and tailgate parties served up barbecue and brew, thousands of people poured into the streets Monday night for a Mardi Gras-like celebration of the Saints' first home game since Hurricane Katrina.
Crowds swamped the area around the Louisiana Superdome in a human sea, creating a huge traffic jam as they sought to forget about the storm for at least a few hours during the team's emotional return and the reopening of the stadium, which underwent $185 million in repairs to erase the damage done during and after Katrina.
"This is exactly what the city needs," said Saints season ticket holder Clara Donate, 58, who lost her home and all her possessions to Katrina's floodwaters. "We all need something else to think about."
Another fan, Brian McGowan, never hesitated when it came time to renew his Saints tickets. Now he gets to use them at a game against Atlanta that's got all the trappings of a Super Bowl.
Along with his wife and two sons, McGowan is still living in Dallas, Texas. The government trailer they've been waiting on for months has yet to materialize, and they're only now starting to rebuild their home. Their close-knit family is strewn across the country -- some in Phoenix, Arizona; some in Baltimore, Maryland; only one sibling in New Orleans. (Watch what it took for crews to rebuild the Superdome -- 1:34)
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/09/25/saints.return.ap/While there'll be a lot of people questioning moneys spent on this, I think it's a great thing for the city and the people. Symbols are something to be considered.