People say that sports analogies never apply well to real life. I disagree. The Saints victory in this years’ Super Bowl, the now universally familiar phrase “Who Dat,” and Drew Brees’s mantra “Finish Strong” tell the story of the recovery in New Orleans. American citizens’ have embraced the region, the people, the culture and, most importantly, the potential, yet stand committed to help with the significant amount of work left to be done.

From A’ints to Saints

Some of you might remember that our now mighty Saints were once referred to as the A’ints. Perpetual losers and poor communicators – they were a team without a strategy. Despite drafting Ricky Williams and bringing in a Hall of Fame Coach, the Saints couldn’t buy a win. Fans wore paper bags on their heads to protest the team’s ineptitude. Things seemed bleak. Fans were hopeless. Parallels to the immediate recovery in the Gulf Coast are clear. It took days to rescue Americans from roofs, FEMA trailers were slow in arriving (and slower in being turned over to residents), contracted employees (like Ditka) were over-paid while showing no results, and the citizens who were trapped (literally, this time) in the Superdome experienced a horror-show. Things seemed bleak. Citizens were hopeless.

Who Dat? You Dat!!!

Most Americans are now familiar with the phrase Who Dat. In New Orleans, Who Dat is a greeting. Who Dat is a goodbye. Who Dat is a song, a cheer, and a verbal blast of hope, triumph and redemption.

Before rising to its current status, Who Dat was a question. “Who Dat say de going to beat dem Saints? Who Dat! Who Dat!”

In relation to the recovery, I suggest that Who Dat has a different meaning. The answer to Who Dat for me is the American public. American citizens have rallied around our New Orleans and worked hard for its recovery. To the question, “Who Dat say they won’t give up on New Orleans,” millions of Americans have answered, “I won’t,” “my company won’t,” “my family won’t.”

Things are better in the area. Many businesses have returned, many schools have reopened, and for many residents, life is getting back to normal.

And yet, much work remains. More than 1,000 American families still live in FEMA trailers and more than 8,000 families are living in other forms of temporary housing. Like after the tragedy of 9/11, when mental health problems got worse four to five years after the tragedy, mental health problems in New Orleans are becoming more severe. At least 30 percent of people who lived in FEMA trailers for six months or longer now have diagnosable mental health problems.

Drew Brees got it right

Throughout the Saints playoff run, Drew Brees has repeated the motto “Finish Strong.” After more than four years, the recovery is still not over. Just this week, I was presented with three cases where clients – all of whom owned homes and who were successful pre-Katrina – are living in gutted or partially rebuilt homes. For people like Ms. McKee, a former a former nursing home attendant, who is living in a partially-rebuilt house and raising her three grandchildren while awaiting a heart transplant, the game is not yet done.

I am not sure exactly what quarter we are in. The residential rebuilding portion of the recovery could take three to five more years. For clients like Ms. McKee (whose rebuilding costs have been sponsored by Jim Feeney and his family), there is hope.

While we celebrate the Saints victory, we ask you to follow Drew Brees’s mantra “Finish Strong.” Please continue to tell friends, colleagues and family members that there have been lots of successes in New Orleans, but much work remains. Please encourage them to follow your lead: please volunteer, please donate and please spread the word.

Let’s Finish Strong!