The NFL recognized the 20th anniversary of the New Orleans Saints’ first game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina by scheduling the black and gold against the Atlanta Falcons in prime time on “Monday Night Football.”
But in an odd twist, the game will be 10 days removed from the actual “Domecoming” date: Steve Gleason’s famous blocked punt against the Falcons took place on Sept. 25, 2006. And the Saints won’t play the Falcons this year until Oct. 5 — in Week 4 of the NFL season, even though New Orleans has a home game in Week 3.
Why the delay?
According to an NFL executive, the league wanted to make sure that the game had its moment, but was flexible with the date as long as it was close enough.
“Relative to the exact date of the anniversary, honestly, we figured if we were within a couple of weeks, we were in good shape,” said Mike North, the NFL vice president of broadcast planning. “Fans remember that moment, the electricity, the excitement.
“If we were a week early or close to the day or a week later, we weren’t going to throw away our best schedule just by being off a couple of days.”
North said the NFL has to be mindful of other events in the region, though he noted he didn’t have the stadium's availability memorized. The NFL opted to have the Philadelphia Eagles play the Chicago Bears on “Monday Night Football” in Week 3.
Still, North said having the Saints take the Falcons on in prime time was a priority for the league — starting at the very top.
“It was, and it’s really to the commissioner’s credit, it was, ‘We’re gonna play Falcons at Saints on Monday night this year. Fit it in that kind of 3-week window,’’ North said, referring to Commissioner Roger Goodell. “It wasn’t a requirement it had to land in a special week, but it was a requirement straight from the boss that it landed on our schedule.”