The Saint Of New Orleans -- Chocolate At That

The New Orleans Saints of the National Football League have been, for most of their nearly 40-year history, lovable losers. For baseball fans, think the Chicago Cubs. Brief flirtations with success, but just enough to make the usual misery worse. Their first winning season came 20 years after their founding, and their first playoff win didn't come until 2000 -- 33 years after they first kicked off.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Saints owner Tom Benson was as unpopular as the mayor, the governor, the head of FEMA and the president all rolled into one as he made moves to abandon the city in favor of his hometown, San Antonio, Texas. The man certainly has a tin ear. The Saints are losers, but they are New Orleans' losers.

Much of Benson's shenanigans and the Saints' long history of medocrity was forgotten on Saturday when Heisman-winning running back Reggie Bush of USC landed in their laps:

Saints coach Sean Payton got the surprise news in a phone call during dinner at one of celebrity chef Emeril Legasse's New Orleans restaurants on the eve of Saturday's NFL draft. The Houston Texans had committed to North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams, essentially serving up Bush on a platter to the Saints, who had the second overall pick.

The coach didn't need much time to think about it, making up his mind "somewhere between the minestrone soup and the red fish."

Saturday morning, about 1,500 frenzied fans jammed into a tent next to training headquarters in suburban New Orleans, shouting "Reggie, Reggie," as New Orleans went on the clock. Some joked they were planning their escape, saying they feared a riot would break out if anyone other than Southern California's Heisman Trophy running back was taken.

There was no riot; the Saints drafted Bush.

For people who underestimate the civic pride athletic teams can generate need to talk to the people of New Orleans this week. This was as big a boost as a successful post-Katrina Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest. Something good happened.

Instead, people who had lost everything eight months ago celebrated like they'd hit the jackpot when a large flat screen TV showed NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue making it official: Bush was a Saint.

The crowd roared, arms raised. Salvation had come. His name was Bush, and it wasn't the president of the United States, whose visit a couple days earlier hadn't generated nearly as much fanfare.

"Did you hear that uprising? I thought that tent was going to blow over. It was almost as loud as the dome," said fan Justin Joliboix, referring to the Louisiana Superdome, where storm damage is being repaired for the coming football season.

I'm not a Saints fan, but here's hoping Reggie Bush isn't another George Rogers -- another Heisman winner drafted by the Saints, who had a couple of good seasons split by a stint in drug rehab. (He was soon traded to the Washington Redskins, and promptly won a Super Bowl ring.) New Orleans deserves better for a change. One player cannot save a football team, but if he's good for the city's morale, he's already contributing. Reggie, please don't turn out to be a punk.

Speaking of punks, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was back in the national spotlight recently. I didn't mention Comedy Central star Steven Colbert's performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where everybody makes fun of everybody. Several blogs have praised Colbert for his "biting" jabs at President Bush, who attended and made fun of himself, too.

Frankly, I didn't think Colbert was all that funny. From what I watched, the crowd didn't either. If you're a professional comedian, the president of the United States should not get more laughs than you.

But ... Colbert did have one good line -- and it wasn't directed at the president. Instead, it came at the expense of Nagin, who was a guest of the Los Angeles Times.

While the main target of the roast was President Bush and his administration, Steven Colbert, host of Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" and the lead roaster at the event, didn't spare Nagin.

He welcomed the mayor thus: "Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the chocolate city," Colbert cracked. "Yeah, give it up. Mayor Nagin, I would like to welcome you to Washington, D.C., the chocolate city with a marshmallow center ..."

BaT would like to thank the Los Angeles Times for inviting Nagin. There's no logical reason why a newspaper on the other side of the country would invite the mayor of New Orleans. It had to be a set-up.

Ray Nagin or Marion Barry? Your call.