PARIS (AP) — The NFL found a good match between team and international host when the Pittsburgh Steelers played in Dublin last year.
asserted
Steelers → find → Dublin
Pittsburgh has strong Irish connections, notably with the Rooney family that owns the team.
asserted
that → have → team
It might have gone one better this time.
uncertain
It → go → ?
The New Orleans Saints are in Paris, which has imposed curfews following street protests, to play a regular-season game in France for the first time in NFL history.
asserted
which → impose → history
Coincidentally, it’s against the Steelers.
asserted
it → ’ → Steelers
Before they square off at Stade de France on Sunday, here’s a look at some links between New Orleans and Paris:
asserted
look → square → Orleans
What’s in a name?
asserted
What → ’ → name
Louisiana is named for Louis XIV, who became king of France in 1643.
asserted
who → name → 1643
Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle had claimed the land for the French colonial empire in 1682.
asserted
Cavelier → claim → 1682
The French established the city of “La Nouvelle-Orléans” in 1718.
asserted
French → establish → 1718
With Napoleon Bonaparte short of cash in 1803, the U.S. paid a mere $15 million for the Louisiana Territory, which today comprises much of the central part of the country.
asserted
which → pay → country
New Orleans famously has a French Quarter, and French-language expressions like “Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll)” still exist, even if touristy.
asserted
times → have → rouler
It’s the team’s logo and has always been on the Saints’ helmets.
asserted
It → ’ → helmets
The Louisiana state fact book notes: “The first official flag of Louisiana was the French fleur-de-lis raised by Robert Cavelier de La Salle at the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1682 when he claimed the lower river valley for France.”
asserted
he → note → France
Under Louis XIV, a 1685 edict called the Code Noir (Black Code) said enslaved people who tried to escape could be branded with a fleur-de-lis as punishment.
uncertain
who → call → punishment
France abolished slavery in 1848, but the Code Noir language had quietly remained on the books until 2026.
asserted
language → abolish → 2026
New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, and Paris was a happy recipient, starting around World War I.
asserted
Paris → start → I.
musicians and singers found France more welcoming than the U.S.
Born in New Orleans, jazz soloist Sidney Bechet had moved to Paris and in the 1950s.
asserted
Bechet → find → 1950s
“He was a major celebrity and a national hero in France, even though the general public in the U.S. never did know who he was,” reads his biography at Blue Note Records.
asserted
biography → know → Records
The religious links run deep.
asserted
links → run → ?
When La Salle claimed the region for the Roman Catholic French monarchy in 1682, he “planted a cross,” the Archdiocese of New Orleans notes.
asserted
Archdiocese → claim → Orleans
New Orleans is renown for its Mardi Gras celebration marking the end of the Carnival season before the Christian Lent period.
asserted
Orleans → mark → period
Saints owner Gayle Benson, a New Orleans native and proud Catholic, helps raise funds to restore both the city’s St. Louis Cathedral as well as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
asserted
Benson → help → Paris
The team’s website notes that the franchise was awarded on Nov. 1, 1966 — “All Saints Day — in a city where Catholicism, St. Louis Cathedral and football are embroidered into one seamless garment.”
asserted
Catholicism → note → garment
Saints want to be France’s team
asserted
Saints → want → ?
As the NFL has expanded globally — this season there are a record nine international games — the league has allowed teams to claim countries in its “global markets” program.
uncertain
teams → expand → program
The designation lets them sign commercial deals and grow their fan base in the country.
asserted
them → let → country
“They’re in good position.
asserted
They → ’re → position
They’re becoming France’s team, which is great,” said Brett Gosper, the NFL’s head of Europe and Asia-Pacific.
asserted
Gosper → become → Europe
“I don’t think it will be long before other teams turn up in France, because it’s such a great market,” he added.
asserted
he → think → France
“The Saints may enjoy it for a while on their own, but I’m not sure how long that will last.”
uncertain
that → enjoy → own
Don’t forget about Pittsburgh
The Steelers can claim a connection to France, as well.
uncertain
Steelers → forget → France
“Pittsburgh bears the mark of Franco-American history: in the 18th century, the French built Fort Duquesne there, on the territory that would become the future city,” said the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in a social media post this week.
asserted
Ministry → bear → post
The Aporia
