What a wonderful story. New Orleans is once again the center of the sports world.
Super Bowl XLVII is about to kickoff and the Ravens and the 49ers are ready. So is New Orleans. Is there a better place to play the NFL’s biggest game? Miami might make an argument for no, but I say yes!
Years after Hurricane Katrina nearly flooded the Crescent City off the map, the Cajuns are back and throwing great sports parties!
Right after the New Year in 2012, I wrote about my experiences in The Big Easy in this column. I was back in Nawlins a few weeks later. It was pretty amazing to be in the city right before the Sugar Bowl and right after the BCS Championship game. The town seemed to have amped up its energy.
Despite the bad press coming out of the Saints’ camp in the past year, the city continues to prove it is the comeback kid. Hurricane Katrina truly destroyed the area. The idea of hosting sports championships, championship teams and more was so foreign when the levees broke years ago.
Now hours before kickoff, New Orleans is on display for the sports world to see. It truly is a wonderful host and backdrop for a championship weekend. The city has great food, history, lodging and of course, hospitality.
The people of New Orleans and Louisiana as a whole, need these big events. They showcase the resolve of those residents that stayed when others left. They showcase the businesses that rebuilt. The eyes of the world will be on the Superdome, the very improved Superdome.
So the visitors will come from San Francisco and Baltimore and all points around the world. They will all descend on the city on the lake to watch two teams with the potential to be extraordinary.
This game has so many back stories, it’s a sports’ lovers dream. A sportswriter’s one too.
HarBowl. Ray Lewis. Art Modell. The side bars are endless in this game!
Sometimes I am very good at predicting the outcomes of games. I am probably one of the few sports columnists that doesn’t bet, but I will tell you this, the big winner of the Super Bowl is:
New Orleans
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