ESPN in Touch

Tonight's Monday night football game at the Superdome is a great opportunity for New Orleanians to take a break from the stress of living in the post-Katrina city. The game so far in the first half is certainly giving Saints fans something to cheer about. The best thing about watching the game on ESPN though is that the commentators are not constantly telling us how this game signals the return of New Orleans.

The broadcast started a little dubiously with Dunce in Chief Sr (aka George HW Bush) telling us the Bush administration line that New Orleans was back and we didn't need to worry about it any more. However, all the ESPN commentators (as well as many of the Atlanta Falcons players) have apparently taken tours of the devestation and were not buying the propaganda. One of them referred to the steps up to concrete slabs in the Lower 9th as gravestones in the cemetery of the former community. They eloquently discussed the nature of the job that actually needed to be done, as well as giving air time to people like Spike Lee who left no doubt as to his feelings of the situation in New Orleans (though he declined to make a Kanye West statement).

Congratulations to ESPN on a great broadcast.