re: Please help settle an argument about Tom Benson

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He had to explore all of his options. There was no guarantee he would have a city much less a stadium to come home too. It's a business, a lot didn't return to NOLA

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He was trying to move the team before Katrina. Katrina just gave him a great opportunity to put it in motion, but Tagliabue stepped in and convinced him to go back.

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He definitely entertained the idea of moving the team, but your friend exaggerates.

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It's not an exaggeration. Benson acted like a dick at that time. I can't find the PFF article, but according to the report, his intentions were downright evil.

Here's an excerpt from a message board and how enraged Saints fans, along with NFL fans, were in 2005: LINK

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According to WDSU (a TV affiliate in New Orleans), the Saints are expected to announce in the next 24 hours that the Saints will play this season in San Antonio, TX, and that season ticket holders will NOT be given refunds.

Likely, this is just the first step in Saints owner Tom Benson's plan to permanently relocate the team to San Antonio. According to profootballtalk.com, Benson's plan is to stick it to the season ticket holders and Louisiana Legislature by exploiting the disaster that is Katrina and moving the team to San Antonio, thereby forcing the state leg. to tell him that he turned his back on the community and they will stop making payments to him.

Of course, if the state stops paying Benson, they are in a breach of contract and he is free to seek a relocation penalty-free.

I hate Tom Benson with a passion. Not only do these people whose lives were completely devastated by Hurricane Katrina not get the opportunity to see the Saints (as they would have if the team temporarily relocated to Baton Rouge), but they won't be getting ANY of their money back thanks to some fine-print that says the team doesn't have to return any money in the event of a natural disaster. I know if I were in that horrible situation, the thousands of dollars I spent on season tickets could go a long way in rebuilding my life.

It's terrible to say it, but right now Tom Benson is the modern-day equivalent of the Merchants of Death. Hopefully by releasing his dastardly plans before they hatch, these people will get their money back.

But even if that happens, it's not enough for me to let Benson off the hook. May he rot in Hell.

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Then after that PFF report came out, Benson was nearly lynched by justifiably enraged Saints fans in Tiger Stadium. It took firm leadership by Tagliabue to step in and force Benson to stay in NOLA to prevent the injustice and a black-eye on the NFL.

I still resented Benson during the Super Bowl parade and all his waving seemed to say "Look at me! Aren't I great?! Look what I've given you" knowing he originally intended to frick us. But someone from here that I can't recall convinced me forgive the old coot. And since then, I've given him props for trying to save the Times Pic & the Hornets, and stepping in for his crazy bitch of a daughter who tried to get Loomis fired.


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IMO, Benson buying the Pelicans and keeping them in NOLA went a long way in redeeming himself for the Katrina aftermath

I was at the Miami game in Tiger Stadium and no one was cheering Saban. In fact, all of my fellow Saints/Tigers fans (and yes, that is the majority of people in LA) were hoping for Saban to fail since he bolted on LSU.

I have to preface my sentiments by saying that I haven't lived in New Orleans since just before Katrina. Therefore, I don't know a lot of what's happened since then and maybe there's things that may make me feel differently...

My feelings on Benson are mixed, at best. Many times, the guy has proven to be a walking PR disaster. That said, he obviously did prevent the Saints from moving to Jacksonville and at first, he seemed to be doing everything right. He brought in Jim Finks and Jim Mora, who instantly transformed the franchise. However, after Finks' departure the Saints were mostly a rudderless ship for a long time. During those times, Benson kept constantly sticking it to the fans by raising prices and to the state for more concessions and pushing for a retractable roof stadium. This at a time when many studies showed that he'd already had the best sweetheart deal of any owner in all four of the major sports leagues. When the Zephyrs first came to town 20 years ago, Benson tried to block it because he wanted to put in his own team after he found out that they were coming. He was openly critical of the Hornets before he got involved with them. Too often, he came off like New Orleans was his own personal sandbox and he didn't want anyone else in it.

To me, there's absolutely no doubt that he fully intended to bail on New Orleans after Katrina. He had been making references and overtures to San Antonio well before Katrina and he saw that as his "get out of jail free" card. IMO, 2 things prevented that from happening. One was that the NFL is a huge PR oriented league and they didn't want a PR nightmare of abandoning New Orleans in its most desperate hour. Two is that San Antonio is a huge hotbed of Cowboys fans and it's no secret that Jerry Jones has done everything possible to prevent a team moving there and taking away a large chunk of that change.

Now, on the positive side, if he indeed did keep the Pelicans from leaving, kudos to him there. Also, I haven't been to the Dome since the 2006 Wild Card playoff win over Philly...but folks tell me that a lot of the changes around the Dome are hugely popular and fan friendly.

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Everything is inuendo. NOBODY knows the truth of it.

Certainly Tom Benson explored his options to leave NOLA. Yes, like many, he was affected by Katrina and acted follishly afterward. My 80 year old father lost quite a bit in Katrina and acted a fool for quite some time afterward.

However, if TOM Benson did EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER to leave NOLA, the Saints would not be here today. Period.

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Not exactly. The NFL was going to block it. Benson probably would have gotten his wish had he not acted like such a prick during such a sensitive time.

This, more than anything, prompted Tagliabue to step in and also caused Benson to lose support from other NFL owners. They weren't going to be part of the Saints leaving New Orleans at that time.

Had things not improved to Benson's liking, then he could have moved after a couple of years, and the NFL would have supported him after the fact...but he was going back to the Superdome for the 2006 season whether he liked it or not.

Good for us and good for Benson that they came back. We still have the Saints and they are more successful than ever, and Benson has made a shitload more money since 2006.