“Hey New Orleans, you just won the Super Bowl; what are you going to do next?” “We are going to… go back to church!” Surprisingly enough, that type of reasoning is being heard throughout the country as a result of the Saints winning Super Bowl XLIV. The thing that angers me about the results of the game is that they are accompanied by the notion that the Saints won the game as a form of retribution for the devastation the people of New Orleans went through during Hurricane Katrina.
Earlier today on ESPN a reporter commented that she was listening to talk radio and heard a man claim Katrina had caused him to lose faith in God, and the Saints’ victory had restored that faith. You have got to be kidding me! The hurricane was three years ago. Last year, when the New York Yankees won the World Series, the country did not sit around and claim that it was well deserved because of the people who lost their lives on 9/11.
It is undeniable that the Saints organization acted very respectably during difficult times; in the wake of the tragedy they even allowed the victims of Katrina to stay inside their stadium until the refugees could go back to their homes. If you believe in sports destiny then surely the 2006-07 Saints would have been Super Bowl champions.
Now that the Saints have won, the “destiny” story has returned as if the story was simply stored away in some writer’s drawer for the last three years. Well guess what, news stories are like homework assignments: just because you do them originally doesn’t mean you can turn them in three years from now for full credit.
The recycled nature of this story belittles everyone involved in it. Hurricane Katrina was a disaster; I can only imagine the pain and suffering of losing family, friends and possessions all at once. Nothing will ever make up for the losses that the people of New Orleans went through. Period.
The loss of faith as a reaction to a terrible situation is understandable. However, to make the claim that the win restored your faith implies that God was at one point ignoring you but now he is there for you.
That is not how it works. You believe in a higher power or you don’t. If you don’t, then you better not start talking about teams of destiny. If you do, then you shouldn’t cheapen your beliefs with the notion that God leaves and comes back with the ebb and flow of good things happening in your life.
The Saints won because their players performed better, not because God was trying to end suffering. If that were the case, Buffalo Bills wouldn’t have lost in four straight appearances and the Vikings wouldn’t be so inept. Or maybe I am wrong and we should all just hope for total destruction of our city so three years from now our sports teams can be destined to emerge victorious.
Zach Gaertner ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering.
