http://www.sphere.com/sports/article/superdome-is-super-again-for-the-new-orleans-saints/19329359
Superdome Is Super Again for the Saints
<ABBR class="published updated" title="2010-01-24 15:26:10">Updated: 27 minutes ago</ABBR>
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Michelle Ruiz
Sphere
<NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>(Jan. 24.) – It goes without saying that if the Saints go marching to the Super Bowl, there's going to be partying in New Orleans, Mardi Gras-style. But there is also going to be raw emotion in the Louisiana Superdome.
Five years ago, there was no power, no plumbing and no hope at the stadium for 30,000 homeless survivors of Hurricane Katrina. There were holes in the roof and major damage to seats, walls, wires and carpeting. The fate of the people, their team and the stadium were in flux.
On Sunday, a renovated Superdome is souped-up and sold-out as the Saints battle the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC championship and their first-ever Super Bowl birth.
"It's probably the biggest day in the history of the city," Terry Kirkley, a New Orleans fan, told AOL News. "It's a symbol of survival...a symbol of the city."
In the wake of Katrina, there was a chance the Saints could be relocated to another city – rumors speculated about Los Angeles, Toronto or San Antonio, where the team set up temporary headquarters for the 2005 NFL season. Officials weighed razing the broken-down Superdome.
Bill Haber, AP
Hurricane Katrina badly damaged the Louisiana Superdome, which served as shelter for victims in New Orleans in the days after the storm. Now, the Saints are preparing to take on the Minnesota Vikings in their renovated stadium.
"It looked like Armageddon," Doug Thornton, who manages the stadium,
told The Associated Press. "I thought, 'It's over. I'll never be back here. This is the last time I'll see it. I just cried... I felt so depressed. It was an ugly sight and an awful feeling."
Federal aid saved the state-owned dome, allowing Thornton to spearhead what turned out to be a $200 million gut-renovation. Thanks to quick basic repairs, the Saints returned to the Superdome for the 2006 season, just a year after Katrina. New Orleans battled to the NFC championship that year. This year, they went undefeated for most of the season, winning 14 games, more than ever before.
It's more than just a football stadium for the city of New Orleans, according to Saints quarterback Drew Brees. The Superdome is home to a team and its fans who rebuilt together.
"Had things gone differently and it was no longer here, no longer occupied, that would be a travesty," Brees told the AP. "But obviously, coming that close to losing something like that maybe makes you appreciate it more."
David de Laureal, a New Orleans native and Saints fan now living in Palo Alto, Calif., said the repaired Superdome brings a sense of closure to many people.
Ronald Martinez, Getty Images
The New Orleans Saints play offense against the Arizona Cardinals during the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at the Superdome last week.
"Without a repaired building or the Saints inside it, there would be a constant reminder of what the city went through," de Laureal told AOL News. "Today it is a source of amazing pride."
There are $85 million in renovations expected at the Superdome by 2013, when it will host the Super Bowl.
Like thousands of others, Kirkley and his friends and family were tailgating at the Superdome Sunday, decked out in black and gold and losing their voices shouting "Who Dat" -- the battle cry of the Saints.
"I'm going to bet if we win this game, you're going to see grown men in tears. I will probably be in tears," Kirkey said. "And then there's going to be a post-game party like you've never seen."
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