A city that is nothing but a big ‘if’ right now can add another hypothetical to the list.
If it can rebuild, New Orleans can become a great sports town.
With the selection of Reggie Bush – the latest in a series of gifts from the sports gods – Saints fever is at a pitch not seen since Aaron Brooks and the boys beat the St. Louis Rams in the 2000 Wild Card Game.
The Associated Press reported Monday that Reebok already received 15,000 orders for Bush jerseys.
That’s quite a turnaround for a team that, between performing horribly on the field and witnessing absolute horror off it, went through the worst season last year a professional sports franchise has ever had.
The only thing that could have made it worse was if they had passed on Bush in the draft.
Yes, the Saints already have a quality running back in Deuce McAllister. But when the most electrifying college player of the past two decades falls into your lap, you make room.
Bobby Knight loves to tell a famous story about the 1984 NBA Draft. A friend of his was a scout with a high pick. The scout asked Knight who he should take.
Knight told the scout he had to take junior guard from North Carolina named Michael Jordan.
“We need a center,” the scout said.
“Then play him at center,” Knight responded.
Bush gives the Saints hope and their first real marketable star in franchise history. He’s a John Elway on a team with way too many John Does in its past.
In many ways Bush is similar to the other person who can make New Orleans a great sports town – Chris Paul.
Now, granted, professional basketball in New Orleans has historically gone over as well as a fart in church.
The Jazz only lasted six years on the Mississippi in the 1970s despite having a flashy star named Pete Maravich. Then they fled to Utah and kept the team name, which is only logical since Salt Lake City is the exact opposite in every respect from New Orleans.
New Orleans languished for more than two decades without another pro sports team. Then in 2002, George Shinn brought the Hornets to town.
Residents seemed happy to have basketball back. At least for a while. Then attendance fell as the team settled into mediocrity. Injuries derailed the career of one star player, Jamal Mashburn, and two
others – Baron Davis and Jamal Magloire – were shipped out of town.
Then 11 months ago the Hornets lucked into Chris Paul.
I say “lucked” because not one but three teams passed on the guard in the draft. Paul then rolled off one of the best rookie seasons in history and was the main reason why the team won 20 more games in 2005-2006.
Now he’s in a position to be one of the five players who will shape the NBA over the next 10 years – just for the heck of it, here are my other four: Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Greg Oden.
Players like that don’t come around often. It’s only by a combination of somebody being lucky and somebody being stupid that a team lands one. Usually New Orleans franchises are the latter, not the former.
With the selection of Bush on Saturday, the city has lucked into two such athletes in less than a year. If Bush and Paul can turn their respective franchises around, The Big Easy can finally add sports to its list of tourist attractions.
Of course the government first has to take steps to rebuild New Orleans.
If only the city could get lucky with the “other” Bush.
 
Elliott is a print journalism senior.
Contact him at [email protected]