Remembering the Superdome's role during Hurricane Katrina

by JOHN DORN

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a landmark in the city of New Orleans. During Hurricane Katrina, then known as the Louisiana Superdome, the arena was used as a "shelter of last resort" to the thousands unable to evacuate the ravaged city.

The thought was novel, and actually carried out on prior occasions. But order was disparate, and resources became harder to come by as time passed. The roof, which was built to withstand most of what nature could bring, became torn and pierced.

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According to the AP, two separate holes were torn into the roof, "each about 15 to 20 feet (6.1 m) long and 4 to 5 feet (1.5 m) wide." Water made its way into elevator shafts and other areas, rendering the Superdome effectively useless -- in terms of shelter and home to the New Orleans Saints.

By Aug. 30, crime and death made its way from outside the arena to the inside, where there were reported suicides, rape, vandalism, drug dealing and gang activity. What was one of the city's proudest monuments had become a depiction of just how destructed New Orleans had become.

But as it eventually regained its form, new life was pumped into the desperate city.

The Saints played their entire season splitting their home games between the Alamodome, Tiger Stadium and Giants Stadium and four college football games were forced to find new hosts as the dome underwent fixes.

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But those fixes were finished in time for the 2006 football season, and when the Superdome finally returned, it was as if the city itself had been rebuilt. Fans flocked to the venue for its first Monday Night Football game on Sept. 25, 2006 to watch their Saints take on the Atlanta Falcons. What they saw was nothing short of magical.

Early in the first quarter, with the crowd already buzzing, Steve Gleason broke free to block a Falcons punt and return it for a crowd-energizing touchdown. It was the first score of a 23-3 route for the Saints and a first-place finish that took them all the way to that year's NFC Championship Game.

Today, the Superdome stands proud as a symbol for what New Orleans has overcome. Ten years after Katrina threatened the dome -- and the entire city -- take time to remember how much the people of New Orleans have overcome to reach where they are today.

A CITY AND ITS TEAMS, LINKED FOREVER