by US Staff (Fri Feb 05, 2010)
Corporate greed is something I think we are all familiar with these
days. Toyota risking its customers' safety for profit. Banks. Hedge funds. Insurance
companies. It seems that everyone is trying to line their pockets
with threads turned to gold through the victimization of the public at large.
Sad thing is that we mostly go about our lives without thinking too much about
it.
So we
are tough and calloused, and as such the idea of greedy little pricks running
all around us doesn't faze us anymore - right?
Wrong!
The people of New Orleans have suffered for a very long time.
Hurricane Katrina was almost 5 years ago and yet there is no functioning
hospital in New Orleans central. Poverty and crime abound. It's a mess.
The one
thing resembling a Phoenix to lift the spirits of the citizens of New Orleans
is the New Orleans Aints. Well, actually they are the New Orleans Saints but
because they have never even sniffed a victorious season since their founding
in 1967, most football fans refer to them as the Aints. But not this year. This
year they face the Indianapolis Colts in the Superbowl. This might seem to be a
miracle but the fact of the matter is the Saints have put the city of New
Orleans back on their collective feet since Katrina struck. In addition to
winning, the players and the team have donated time, money, sweat and
heart to their beloved city and the city has returned the favor by rallying
behind the team making them easily the greatest fanbase in all the National Football League
(NFL), if not the world of sport.
So where is the greed? Enter the NFL League Office - the managing
body of the league. Through some legal acrobatics to do with the claims and
expansion of trademark rights, the League Office has sent ‘cease and desist'
letters all over New Orleans and Miami, the site of Sunday's game, to stop
merchants from selling clothes and other swag with the Saints' rallying cry
‘Who Dat?' on it. This action has cast a pall over the celebration and for
what? Money! The richest, most profitable sports institution in America needs
the cash.
Well, I say shame on the NFL. Zip up your pockets and the mouths of
your lawyers and leave the poor (literally) people of New Orleans alone.
Unless of course you want to shout ‘Who Dat?' along with them.
