10th Anniversary Of “Rebirth”
Ten years ago, the Superdome reopened, Steve Gleason blocked the punt, and the Saints went on to beat the Falcons 23-3. You can relive Gleason’s heroics here.
Everyone in the stadium was crying, not just because we beat archrival Atlanta, but because we knew at that moment that the Saints were back, and were going to be better than ever. And, by metaphorical extension, we all knew that the New Orleans region was going to come back, and was going to be better than ever.
Of course, the Saints went on to win their first Super Bowl soon thereafter. And Greater New Orleans went on to receive a series of accolades that would have been unimaginable before – let alone after – the terrible aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And yet, here is just a small sample from the past ten years:
- New Orleans is a “Most Dynamic City in America” [Worth]
- Greater New Orleans is the #1 Most Improved Metro in the USA [Wall Street Journal]
- New Orleans was ranked #1 on the list of “America’s Biggest Brain Magnets” [Forbes]
- Greater New Orleans is #1 for the Decade for Economic Development Wins in the South [SB&D]
- Greater New Orleans is #2 in the USA for Export Growth, over 400% [US Chamber of Commerce]
- Greater New Orleans is #2 in the USA for Growth in Knowledge Industries [EMSI]
- New Orleans Leads the USA by 64% in number of startups-per-capita [GNO Community Data Center]
- New Orleans is #1 City in America for Growth in International Tourists, 37% [US Dept. of Commerce]
- New Orleans was named “America’s Best City for School Reform” [Thomas B. Fordham Institute]
- GNO, Inc. was named a “Top Economic Development Agency in the USA” (one of 11 of 2,300+) [Site Selection]
- New Orleans is the #2 Favorite City in America and #7 Favorite City in the World [Travel + Leisure]
The statue that memorializes Gleason’s block is called, aptly, “Rebirth.” So, on it’s 10th Anniversary, we say thank you. And, “Who dat!
