Tom Benson is 84 years old. Is there time for us to figure a way to subsidize a Major League Baseball and/or National Hockey League team for him to profit from for at least one season before he dies? I know that sounds like a daunting project but I'm sure if we all are "in" we can "fan up" and make New Orleans the most hospitable zone in the country for sports entertainment welfare for millionaires programs of the sort that Mr. Benson has long thrived on. Yes, we've already basically ceded the area bordered by Loyola Avenue, Poydras Street, Claiborne Avenue, and the Pontchartrain Expressway over to the Benson Empire, but is that really be best we can do? Surely we owe him this one last kindness.
This is especially so in light of today's announcement that the NBA will bring its All Star Game back to New Orleans in 2014. During today's press conference, the Mayor was on hand to remind us of the crucial "economic impact" of hosting these periodic traveling circuses. Now that the NBA has committed another All Star Game some of us have already begun scouring Craigslist in search of the next exciting guerrilla marketing opportunity sure to come with it.
But while we're reaping these *ahem* bounties, let's not forget that we have Tom Benson to thank for that. Or.. maybe we do. Anyway, he's located very near to the boon so certainly he deserves some credit for it right? At least as much as he does for the Saints having.. eventually.. won a Superbowl while he was near them.
Meanwhile the real upshot of all this is that Mr. Benson has afforded us the opportunity to now play our favorite parlor game of Re-brand The Team in earnest. Recall that we got off to a rather slow start with this business a few weeks ago. Of the names on that list, I'm still partial to The New Orleans Basketball Reasons, although I could be persuaded to go with Buccaneers or even Pelicans in the interest of stoking the nostalgia market. As long as the teal is out, I'm pretty much "in".
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