Be a Saint for 60 Minutes Most die-hard football fans will not only root for their team no matter the situation, but they will also hope for the worst in regard to teams in their favorite team’s division. Under normal circumstances, we Bucs fans will look at the results of the Falcons, Panthers, and Saints’ game right after watching the Bucs game. We should. In a system where the winner of a division makes the playoffs, we should root against these divisional rivals on a regular basis. However, Super Bowl XLIV is not the juncture to root against the Saints for the reasons below. Quite frankly, most of residents of New Orleans only have the Saints to look forward to. The Saints are their only hope as they live in a town that is still devastated from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Many families had to evacuate their houses and go to the Superdome, the stadium that hosts Saints’ home games. About 25,000 people called the Superdome their home during the tragedy, the same building that the Saints just beat the Vikings to advance to the Super Bowl. There were deaths in the Superdome, some from drug overdoses and some from natural causes. One man jumped to his death in a completed suicide. There were also talks of rape that took place in the Superdome. It was the home to utter chaos and confusion. The people of New Orleans sat in the Superdome in the torrential rain and wind. The hurricane was so strong that it ripped holes into the dome and could not even provide a roof for people to sit under. It took between $100-$200 million dollars to repair the stadium from damage that it took from nasty winds and excessive downpours of rain. The stadium was damaged by other objects too…human waste included. Picture yourself in this situation. Picture any loved one in this situation, surrounded by human waste and frightened by the deaths taking place in the stadium. Oh yeah, add to this the fact that your house and all of your belongings will never be seen again. Lastly, add the worry that you might not even make it out alive. You may never be able to recover from this catastrophe…ever. The situation I’m mentioning is similar to the current situation in Haiti, although it is a different natural disaster. The New Orleans’ people are still in survival mode today too. However, four and a half years later, their hometown team is going to the Super Bowl. So, put your division rival mindset on hold for this game. Better yet, root for the Saints to beat the Colts. The people of New Orleans need it desperately, for a loss will add to their continued misery. It will be hard as a Bucs fan to want to see a divisional opponent raise the Lombardi trophy, but put a rivalry, which seems petty in the grand scheme of things, on hold for 60 minutes. Was it great to see Tom Benson prematurely celebrate a win against the Bucs week 16? Yes. However, pull for Tom Benson to celebrate for real on Super Bowl Sunday and bring a trophy back to New Orleans, a city that absolutely needs this trophy. I can’t stand the teams in our division and root against them just as much as I root for the Bucs. I refer to them as the ‘Aints just like all of you, but there is a certain point where we have to put the game of football in perspective. Gaines Adams dying surely made the game of football feel insignificant. So, put the insignificant divisional rivalry aside and hope for the morally right thing to happen this Super Bowl Sunday because a certain city desperately needs this victory. Chris Bruno, January 2010