SUPERDOME SHOULD COME DOWN
It's nearly impossible to even attempt to think ahead to the coming months and years at a time when the immediate suffering of so many of our fellow Americans is raw and fresh and powerfully heartbreaking. But as we sift through more and more information regarding the true state of affairs in New Orleans, we predict that the ultimate fate for the 30-year-old Superdome will be demolition.
The exterior damage is obvious. There are holes in the roof that no one will even be able to begin to assess for repair until the water is pumped out of the Crescent City, which won't happen until December at the earliest. Until then, the interior will be exposed continuously to the elements.
And the elements likely are only the tip of the iceberg. Based on reports regarding the conditions inside the facility resulting from several days of occupation by those seeking shelter from Katrina, we can't imagine anyone undertaking the task of restoring the structure to its original condition.
Human waste is everywhere. The building is flooded. People have died there. How can it ever again be a place of amusement and recreation?
It can't. And it shouldn't.
We believe that once the full consequences of our government's failure (Democrat, Republican, or otherwise) to apply foresight and common sense to the relief effort are measured, a difficult-but-inevitable decision will be made to raze the structure. It otherwise will be a constant reminder of the misery, suffering, and death that has unfolded this week, and we suspect that not even the most loyal and devoted native will want to venture through its doors ever again.
As we've said before, issues of this nature have little relevance today. They will have little relevance tomorrow. And they will have little relevance a month from now.
But thinking toward the future gives us some relief from the helplessness that we feel and the guilt that we experience every time we take a drink of water, eat a bite of food, or flush a working toilet.
And when we think toward the future of New Orleans, we can't imagine the Superdome being a part of it.
By the way, the site is http://www.profootballtalk.com. (This is a great site for all of us football junkies by the way.)
