The NFL is once again taking a regular season game to Wembley Stadium in 2008, because Roger Goodell will not be satisfied until American football is bigger in England than Amy Winehouse’s hair. He’s even taking America’s football sweethearts, the New Orleans Saints, with him this time, because Reggie Bush is just as good as Ashley Cole when it comes to providing outlandish tabloid fodder.
Oh, and Saints fans are venting at the NFL for taking a home game away from New Orleans next season.
Personally, I think their anger is a little misguided. After all, if Saints owner Tom Benson actually cared about all the people of New Orleans who earn their keep because of Saints games, he could have called Goodell, explained the situation and convinced them to take the Buccaneers instead. (Sure, Bucs fans would have been unhappy, but when has Malcolm Glazer ever listened to fan complaints?)
The truth is that Benson’s contempt for the city of New Orleans is legendary. He spent years threatening to move the team if they didn’t cut him a huge check for a new stadium to replace the Superdome. If not for Hurricane Katrina, Benson could have gotten a green light to take the Saints to Los Angeles. Paul Tagliabue only stopped a move two years ago because he knew how bad a PR hit the NFL would have taken if it had left the city after it suffered such devastation.
So the fact that Benson would sign off on giving up a home game to go to London — especially after the Saints gave up eight home games in 2005 — doesn’t surprise me. The team is expected to get a nice financial bonus from participating in this game, and you can be sure that none of that money will ever escape Benson’s wallet. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about helping the citizens of New Orleans, so long as he gets paid.
Don’t blame the NFL for this, Saints fans. Blame the asshole that owns your team. He’s laughing all the way to the bank at you.
UPDATE: Fellow FanHouser Tom Mantzouranis offers this counterpoint, saying New Orleans owes the NFL this much for preventing Benson from moving the team in the first place, and that this could net the Big Easy another Super Bowl in 2012. It makes sense. It doesn’t make Benson any less an asshole.
