There’s an unwritten rule in the NFL that a player cannot lose his starting job due to injury. When the starter’s ready to play again, his job is there waiting for him. The backup returns to the bench unless he can earn back the job as a starter.
The organizers of the Essence Music Festival have taken that rule to heart. The Weathers Report earlier reported that our friends in (Thanks) Houston, who hosted the event last year while the Superdome underwent post-Katrina renovations and repairs, were maneuvering to keep the event permanently, even after New Orleans was ready to come off the disabled list. Yet it was announced this week that the Essence Music Festival is returning to the Big Easy with a new three-year deal.
So the starter keeps the job and the backup returns to the bench. And since the backup performed poorly –attendees had problems navigating the sprawling city and finding entertainment after the concerts – and because, in the words of Your Right Hand Thief, Houston is a “hideous, sprawling, strip mall vomitorium,” that’s where it will stay. Thanks Houston. Tell your buddies in Oklahoma City that the Hornets are next.
The Weathers Report 