Football is more than entertainment. It’s one of the few things that relieves tension between the many races and cultures in this country.
Whether you’re white, black, Hispanic or Asian, if you share the same love for a team, you cheer them on together.
On Saints Sundays, New Orleans is a sea of all races wearing black and gold, tailgating and watching the game in the Superdome or at a nearby bar.
I’ll never forget the city’s spirit in 2010 after the Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings and landed a spot in Super Bowl XLIV. After cheering at the top of our lungs, my family and I headed to downtown New Orleans to dance, sing, cry and cheer with the rest of the city.
It was a night that seemed as though everyone forgot about the troubles and terrors happening across the country. In that moment, people weren’t worried about the inferiority of the black race or the supremacy of the white race. Everyone came together as one and rejoiced.
The celebration grew exponentially after the Saints took home the trophy. The Crescent City went to sleep with a huge smile on its face. That spirit lived on weeks later — after the New Orleans Super Bowl parade, Drew Brees drank and chanted with locals at Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant.
Two years ago, LSU students of all colors stormed Tiger Stadium’s field with excitement after beating Ole Miss on Homecoming Day. On Mondays after an LSU win, classrooms are filled with purple and gold.
But it looks like Louisiana won’t be getting any tension relief any time soon. Two of our state’s major teams are really letting us down. Like, really.
New Orleans is facing one of its greatest racial divides in recent history because of the debate and protest over the presence and meaning of the city’s Confederate monuments, including a counter-protest that took place last weekend led by former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke.
Meanwhile, Baton Rouge is still Baton Rouge. The capital is home to a university where a diversity seminar is held at the same time as a fat-shaming speech.
The whole country is experiencing serious racial tension caused by things such as the upcoming presidential election and the countless number of black men being killed by law enforcement seemingly every week.
But there’s nothing to relieve the tension.
While we could’ve been celebrating a winning season, Les Miles has been fired, and people are debating who should play certain positions. In New Orleans, many fans are expressing deep concerns over Drew Brees and Sean Payton.
This is just a stressful year for Louisianians.
I guess everyone could come together over the fact that our teams are doing terrible, but it’s not the same. People don’t want to be bothered when their teams aren’t doing their best.
Louisiana can’t catch a break. Tensions are flaring, and there’s no way to relieve them — unless our teams start winning, of course.
Clarke Perkins is a 20-year-old political science junior from New Orleans, Louisiana.