How Hurricane Francine Is Failing to Deter Saints and Cowboys Fans from Flooding Sunday’s Game

In Louisiana, cleanup is underway in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine. But while the storm is still fresh on many minds, football fans are turning their focus to Sunday, choosing not to let Mother Nature stand in the way of a showdown between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.

“We were definitely not canceling this game, because we’ve got a house divided. He’s a Cowboys fan. I’m a Saints fan. It’s been a lot of trash talk, so we weren’t canceling for nothing in this world,” said Zedra Washington.

Washington said, if anything, friends considered driving in from Houma, Louisiana even sooner to ensure their travel wouldn’t be impacted by the storm.

Back home, Francine ripped off the roof of a business and left many in the dark.

Francine was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall in Louisiana, but the damage was already done. NBC 5’s Evan Anderson tells us more.

“It tore up a lot of stuff and we’re still out of power. They’re saying we might not get power back until Monday. So I talked with my brother back home and he said it was like hell sleeping in the house last night with no electricity,” said Jordan Allen.

“She’s like, ‘Do we get out? Do we stay?’,” said Elizabeth Teagle.

Teagle’s daughter is a medical student at Tulane.

She said the family was initially worried about whether she’d be able to make it in. But Friday, she got a spot on a packed flight from New Orleans just in time for a weekend of football.

The family will attend TCU’s game on Saturday and the Saints at the Cowboys on Sunday.

“Basically, you can’t have weather stop you unless it’s catastrophic or devastating or things are ruined. You’ve got to go on and keep living life,” she said.

The Saints also had to brace for impact.

Late this week, the team announced that rather than evacuate, it would move up practice to release players ahead of Francine’s landfall.

Back in Texas, the excitement seems to be on the matchup.

“I wouldn’t cancel for anything in this world,” said Darren Franklin. “Because I love the Cowboys.”

Franklin said Francine’s aftermath will be a post-game problem. “We’ll take care of that when we get back there,” he said.

Sunday’s kick-off at AT&T Stadium is scheduled for noon.