Benson Boogey or Texas two-step?

Here is an editoral written about Tom "the-devil" Benson, the owner of the Saints!
Billy Gomila

Sports Editor(The Bogalusa Daily News)
It's a punch to the stomach.

More so than any of the numerous losses. More than any of foolish missteps.

In the wake of a city's destruction, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson appears set on taking his show on the road permanently - to San Antonio.

Of course, San Antonio has long been Benson's threat. His supposed ace in the hole to make sure the city and state would be ready to step up financially to make sure the team stays around.


But now, with New Orleans just coming back from the brink of some twisted John Carpenter movie and the Superdome bearing the scars of whatever went on during those hellish days, Benson is acting about as loyal as Benedict Arnold and Caesar's Brutus combined.

Loyalty.

It's a word that Tom Benson must have skipped over during his education and that's the word that best describes a Saints fan. They've ridden a rollercoaster with this team that's had far more valleys than peaks. They've taken the heart-wrenching futility for over 30 years and always come back for more. They've shrugged off the Russell Erxlebens, the Shawn Knights and TWO Billy Joes and have always come back for more, selling out 36-consecutive games this century while watching a .500 football team hover on the brink of mediocrity.

People in the national media talk about the suffering of Cleveland Browns or Philadelphia Eagles fans, but they know nothing of the pain of a Saints fan. It's pain that deserves a hug. What the fans are getting is a stab in the back.

There are a lot of unknowns about this state's immediate economic future. The truth is it may be decades before Louisiana would be able to support the Saints again. But to leave now without giving New Orleans even a chance to keep its team, is unforgivable.

Its easy to use hyperbole in sports, and its easy to blow perceived slights out of proportion. That being said, Mr. Benson had best be prepared for his karmic comeuppance. There have been many men in the history of big business that pushed their greed to the extent of becoming symbols of it. Tom Benson may have just joined the club.