New Orleans Saints

[Mike McK]

OK. Obviously, football is way down the list of important things this week but I still thought this was interesting.

WYSP is reporting that the Saints are considering Legion Field in Birmingham as a possible "home away from home", this season.

Being from Birmingham and having spent a lot of time there, I thought this was pretty cool.

 

[NaasPreacher (C4K)]

I predict San Antonio as the new permanent home of the Saints.

 

[4His_glory]

I think the Saints will return to New Orleans once they can, it certainly won't this season though.

Texas has two football teams already, they don't need another.

I bet there are business men that would like to make the Saints permenent in SA since the city only has one professional sports team- the Spurs of the NBA.

 

[Magnetic Poles]

Birmingham has long wanted a team, and has had teams from the USFL and the CFL during its short-lived expansion into the US. Still, if they leave for good, it will be San Antonio or Los Angeles.

 

[4His_glory]

Could Birmingham be a big enough market to sustain a NFL team?

 

[PastorSBC1303]

I am sure the Saints would fit right in Alabama....what is one more bad football team to add to Bama and Auburn

 

[Paladin]

Alabama is a college football state and always will be ... Why would an owner of a pro football team want to compete with Auburn and UAT for fan support and media coverage. Also, do not forget High School Football! If the team was losing, the fans would stay away in droves. Fans in Alabama want to only support a winner, see what the fan reaction is when Tuberville and Shula lose a game.

Annual or semi-annual professional events like NASCAR or the PGA Seniors Tour Bruno's Tournament (now the Champions Tour)

Another point, has anyone been to Legion Field recently, the place is a rundown and in a bad part of town.

 

[Mike McK]

Originally posted by Paladin:
Alabama is a college football state and always will be ... Why would an owner of a pro football team want to compete with Auburn and UAT for fan support and media coverage.

They're not competing. They know that they're not competeing.

They're just looking for a field to play on while theirs is being rebuilt.

Fans in Alabama want to only support a winner, see what the fan reaction is when Tuberville and Shula lose a game.

[/qb]

It's been so long since Coach T has lost, I don't recall.

Somebody must beleive in him because all holy Hell broke loose when the school tried to launch a failed coup to remove him.

Another point, has anyone been to Legion Field recently, the place is a rundown and in a bad part of town.

It was a bad neighborhood when I lived there years ago but, in all fairness, many sports stadiums are in run down areas.

 

[Mike McK]

Originally posted by PastorSBC1303:
I am sure the Saints would fit right in Alabama....what is one more bad football team to add to Bama and Auburn

Bad? We were number two in the nation. If not for the corrupt BCS, we could have been number one.

Now, this year, without Campbell, Caddilac, Downtown Brown, and Carlos Rogers, we'll see on Saturday.

 

[Mike McK]

Originally posted by 4His_glory:
Could Birmingham be a big enough market to sustain a NFL team?

It's not really a matter of sustaining.

This is only temporary.

Remember though, the Magic City did have a very successful pro team for a couple of years, the Stallions.

And, of course, the University of Alabama has had their share of pro teams, too.

 

[Alcott]

Baton Rouge wasn't hit so hard by the hurricane, was it? And there shouldn't have been such flooding. Tiger Stadium seats 72,000, and being just an hour's drive, season ticket holders (supposing they have a place to drive from) should be able to exchange their SD's for comparable seats. The next best chance should be Memphis and the Liberty Bowl.

 

[PastorSBC1303]

Baton Rouge makes the most snese to me.

 

[4His_glory]

Baton Rouge does make sense. It would still be in Lousiana, and I am sure that the city has its share of Saints fans.

 

[KenH]

Isn't Baton Rouge the main staging area for relief efforts? I'll be surprised if LSU is even able to play there for a while. Might be kind of hard to tailgate with rescue workers and evacuees all over the place. It would seem totally out of place.

 

[hamricba]

Originally posted by C4K:
I predict San Antonio as the new permanent home of the Saints.

How permanent? You do raise the question as to whether they'll EVER be able to return to New Orleans- or what will be left of the city.

While 2005 is up in the air, so is 2006, and probably 2007 for this team.

Maybe they would move up the river to Memphis? Seems like a better fit than Birmingham. I agree, San Antonio is a frontrunner to secure the franchise based on market size.

 

[Andy T.]

The owner of the Saints has wanted to move the team for awhile. I think they will end up in S.A. permanently.

They announced this morning that the Saints first home game a week from this Sunday against the Giants will be played in the Giants home stadium. This makes no sense to me. Play it on a neutral site. The Giants now get 9 home games, an advantage that no other team has.

 

[Debby in Philly]

Maybe SA isn't ready for TV coverage.

 

[Johnv]

Originally posted by Magnetic Poles:
... if they leave for good, it will be San Antonio or Los Angeles.

Pehraps. Or, Los Angeles may start a new team. But right now, the NFL is still deliberating on an appropriate L.A. site (assuming L.A. is allowed an NFL venue). One possible venue is in nearby Anaheim (which is actually Orange County, not L.A. County), on a stretch of land near the Arrowhead Pond (home of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) and the Angel Stadium (home of the Angels of Anaheim). The Anaheim infrastructure is much more friendly to incoming and outgoiing stadium traffic (unlike L.A.). Plus, there seems to be something fitting about the Saints and Angels being in close proximity.

 

[Brother Ian]

Seems San Antonio is in the lead.

 

[Andy T.]

If the Saints end up in L.A., they should put them in the NFC West and move the St. Louis Rams to the South.

Probably could do the same if they moved to S.A.