Roger Goodell Wanted Falcons vs Saints On MNF To Mark 20 Years Since Katrina

by Larry Leo

May 17, 20261 Comments

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear to the schedulemakers that he wanted a Falcons-Saints Monday night game in New Orleans on the 2026 schedule around the time of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina...

quote:
“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 in that kind of three-week window.’ So, 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,” North said.

“Relative to the exact date of the anniversary, honestly, we figured if we were within a couple of weeks, we were in good shape,” North said. “Fans remember that moment, the electricity, the excitement. If we were a week early, or closer to the day, or a week later, weren’t gonna throw away our best schedule just by being off a couple days. Plus, as you know, there’s a lot of events going on in that region. I don’t have the stadium availability off the top of my head, but relative to the Dome itself, the arena across the street, there’s concerts, there’s basketball games, there’s other things going on at times. It wasn’t a, ‘This game has to be in this week.’”