Page i6
SPORTS
Sept. 23, 2005
Greensboro. N.C.
www.girilfordian.com
Katrina’s effects still nimliling Oircugh the NFL
Chris Friende
Staff Writer
Hurricane Katrina has great
ly affected the United States
and its people. Americans from
all over the country are trying
to do what they can to help the
victims. This impact has affect
ed the country socially, eco
nomically, and politically. Even
though Katrina has passed,
the effects are still being felt.
In the world of sports,
Katrina put the National
Football League's schedule in
disarray. The New Orleans
Saints played their first home
game at Giant Stadium in New
York on Monday. The Giants
have promised to make the
team and their fans feel at
home by putting the Saint's
team colors along the walls of
the Stadium.
The NFL dealt with Katrina's
disruption by finding other
places for the Saints to play.
Other than Giant Stadium, the
Saints are scheduled to play at
the Alamodome in Texas and
Tiger Stadium in Louisiana.
"I think when you have
thousands of people living in
the Superdome, I think that's
more important than football,"
says Jason Dillard, a resident
of Colfax, N.C., who believes
that football is less important
than the problems Katrina has
made for residents of New
Orleans.
In order to highlight this, the
NFL held a telethon during
both of Monday night's games
in order to raise money for
Katrina victims and to get more
volunteers to help with the
relief effort.
The Saints and the Giants
were scheduled to play on
Sunday; but the game was
moved to Monday night at 7:30
p.m. because of special cir
cumstances. When the origi
nally-scheduled Cowboys vs.
Redskins game started at 9
p.m., the Saints' game was
moved to ESPN.
The games became a part of
George Bush and Bill Cinton's
"Hurricane Relief Weekend:
Recover and Rebuild," and
included football players
answering the phone calls of
those fans who wanted to
help.
The telethon was hosted by
ABC News reporter Robin
Roberts and featured a special
half-time performance by the
rock band Three Doors Down.
The situation that Katrina
caused for the Saints has
many NFL pundits talking
about the team moving to San
Antonio in the near future.
'The league already has the
Dallas Cowboys and the
Houston Texans playing in
Texas, and the move could be
more difficult than the owners
imagine," said Chris Neilson, a
Philadelphia Eagles fan who
feels that the impact of the hur
ricane will negatively affect the
league. 'The thought of a
move possibly could have
been out of desperation
because of the hurricane."
"It's a shame that it had to
happen this way, but when its
going to take about $2 billion
to rebuild the city, there's not
much you can do," said long
time football fan Jeremy
Dudley.
The Saints' stadium, the
Superdome, will have to be
rebuilt because of the damage
Katrina.caused, and this will be
something that the team will
have to deal with in the future.
"Since the superdome sus
tained a lot of damage, some
estimate that it will cost over*
$100 million to repair the •
dome," said senior and New.
Orleans native Savanna
Turner. "It would be horrible if
the team was moved because
of the hurricane. Something
would be missing from New
Orleans."
The NFL's schedule alter
ations and location changes
have been stressful but neces
sary. The league may be going
through some changes and
things may not be the same for
the Saints for a long while; but
the games are still being
played, the season will contin
ue, and fans will still berable to
enjoy the games. X
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A post-Katrina view of the Superdome