The Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play in the Sugar Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Thursday night following Terrorist attack on Bourbon Street Which left more than ten dead.
Sugar Bowl officials and lawmakers decided to postpone the game to 4 p.m. ET after it was scheduled to be the final game of Three-game playoff slate Wednesday. The two schools arrived in New Orleans on Sunday, and were reportedly just blocks away from the carnage that struck the city.
Fans who came to the Big Easy were quick to make their final plans as the game was put on hold.
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A police officer arrives on Canal Street after a car plowed into a crowd of people earlier in New Orleans on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
Lisa Borrelli, a 34-year-old Philadelphia resident and Notre Dame graduate, came to New Orleans with her fiancé to watch the Fight Irish.
“We can't get new flights,” she told The Associated Press, adding that she understood why officials postponed the game and that it was “absolutely the right decision.”
Borrelli said they paid more than $250 per ticket and didn't bother listing them on a third-party site because the prices were so low. Early Thursday morning, ticket prices were as high as $26 at some locations.
“Of course we are disappointed to miss this opportunity and lose a lot of money because of it, but in the end, it doesn’t matter,” Borelli said. “We're lucky enough to be okay.”
Darrell Huckabee, a 72-year-old Georgia resident, told the AP that he decided to go home Thursday rather than stay to watch the game. He said he was in a room overlooking the place where the attack occurred. He said he was asleep when it happened, but when he woke up, he saw blankets covering the bodies.
Huckabee said he would “probably eat” the $360 he paid for each ticket.
“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “I think most people's first instinct this morning was to want to go home. As important as football was to Georgia's culture, for a short time, the game didn't really seem important.
Fans line up at the front desk of the Sheraton Hotel after the Sugar Bowl CFP quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed following an attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on January 1, 2025. (Photos by Jeff Burke-Imagine)
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“I think there was a lot of uncertainty, and I understand that,” Huckabee said. “It took a long time to decide on the time of the match and people had to make decisions without all the information.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Morrell He told NBC News on Wednesday's game should be postponed to Friday.
“It is not my decision, but I would like to see it postponed at least another day. If they ask me my opinion, I will tell them that,” Morell said. “I think it would have been wise to postpone this for at least a day. This is an active crime scene, and they just finished removing some bodies, and they haven't removed them all yet. I still think we need to wait an extra day.”
Georgia and Notre Dame players spent the day in lockdown, spending most of it in ballrooms attending meetings. Georgia players were bused to the Superdome for walk-on practice Wednesday night.
Our Lady The players watched the Rose Bowl quarterfinals with their families. Notre Dame offered band members the option of returning home early and some chose to do so.
The terrorist attack left several people injured, including a student at the University of Georgia.
“I am deeply saddened by the devastating attack that occurred in New Orleans overnight, and I offer my sincere condolences to the victims, their families, and all those affected by this terrible tragedy,” University of Georgia President Jerry W. Moorhead said in a statement.
Sugar Bowl fans from the University of Georgia and Notre Dame pose for photos as New Orleans police and federal agents investigate a suspected terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year's Day, Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (Chris Granger/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
“At this point, we have learned that a UGA student was seriously injured in the attack and is receiving medical treatment. I have spoken to the student's family and shared my concern, support, and well wishes on behalf of the entire UGA community. I would like to express my gratitude to all first responders who moved quickly to help those affected by “This senseless act of violence, as well as to the medical personnel caring for the wounded.”
The University of Georgia Athletic Association and Notre Dame officials said the two schools have registered all team members and official travel party members.
Security for the game will be tightened. New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno told WDSU-TV before the game was postponed that the security perimeter around the facility “has been expanded to a larger area.”
“There are more police officers coming in,” she said.
Caesars Superdome is also the host site of Super Bowl LIX.
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The Superdome hosted the first Super Bowl after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The city beefed up its security at that time as well, with officers, including snipers, stationed on the tops of surrounding high-rise buildings, as well as on the roof of the dome.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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