reflections, updates and homilies from Deacon Mike Talbot inspired by the following words from my ordination: Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach...
Friday, March 23, 2018
Final farewell to Tom Benson
New Orleans says goodbye to Tom Benson as only New Orleans can
Paul Tagliabue attended countless Super Bowls and met scores of U.S. Presidents and foreign leaders during his 17-year tenure as NFL Commissioner.
But the 77-year-old New Jersey native had never experienced anything like the second line parade to honor former Saints owner Tom Benson on Friday (March 23) in the French Quarter.
"I didn't know anything about a second line until someone sent me a video of an impromptu second line last week," Tagliabue said Friday afternoon, still trying to mentally digest the experience. "It was incredible."
Yes, it was. From the sun-kissed afternoon under a blue-bird sky to the diverse milieu of fans that gathered by the hundreds in Jackson Square to pay their respects to one of the city's most popular and powerful men, it was a day many New Orleanians won't soon forget.
Benson was memorialized during a formal Catholic Mass at St. Louis Cathedral. The standing-room-only crowd of 1,000 at the invitation-only ceremony included NFL and NBA commissioners Roger Goodell and Adam Silver, respectively, Gov. John Bel Edwards, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell.
After the hour-long service, a traditional New Orleans funeral procession made its way along the crumbling, centuries-old streets as a teeming mass of Saints fans, curiosity-seekers and tourists lined the four-block route down Chartres Street to the Old Ursuline Convent.
A horse-drawn carriage transporting the casket led the procession. The Young Men Olympian Jr. social and aid and pleasure club danced alongside as the Storyville Stompers brass band played funeral dirges like "A Closer Walk with Thee" and "St. James Infirmary."
The star-studded congregation included Saints quarterback Drew Brees and head coach Sean Payton, along with New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis and general manager Dell Demps, who served as honorary pallbearers.
Larry Rolling, participates in a second line parade for New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson in the French Quarter on Friday, March 23, 2018. Tom Benson passed away on March 15 at the age of 90.
Tagliabue and Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker marched in the second wave, recording the moment for posterity with cell phones and acknowledging well-wishers with handshakes and shoulder pats.
"I saw a sign that said, 'Mr. B. Forever a Saint,'" Tagliabue said. "Well deserved."
There was a time, Tagliabue admitted, when he wasn't sure it would turn out this way for Benson. A dozen years ago, in the uncertain aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Tagliabue worked with Benson to return the Saints to New Orleans and help lead the city's recovery.
After Katrina, Benson's name was being spray-painted on the side of rotting refrigerators by frustrated storm-weary fans. On Friday, they brandished FAITH and BELIEVE T-shirts with his image splashed across the front.
"It's great the way things have worked out here," Tagliabue said. "It's fantastic."
At times, the scene felt like a Sunday tailgate outside the Superdome. Many in the crowd wore Saints jerseys and held signs pledging their allegiance to Benson and the Black and Gold. Some even brandished black-and-gold parasols in an ode to the man who created the Benson Boogie. Entrepreneurs hawked Benson T-shirts and bottles of water.
Along the wrought-iron fence surrounding Jackson Square, street artist Daniel Garcia painted an image of Tom and Gayle Benson on a memorial door and encouraged fans to sign the painting while he completed his work.
"I just wanted to show my appreciation for all he has done for the city," said Garcia, who said he painted similar memorials for Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino and Coco Robicheaux. "He made possible one of the best moments of my life and I wanted to honor and thank him."
Edward Buckner, of the Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club, dances during a second line parade for New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson in the French Quarter on Friday, March 23, 2018. Tom Benson
"I didn't know anything about a second line until someone sent me a video of an impromptu second line last week," Tagliabue said Friday afternoon, still trying to mentally digest the experience. "It was incredible."
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