The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Georgia Bulldogs Thursday nearly 24 hours after the game was pushed while the FBI investigated a deadly New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street.
Hours after a man drove through the French Quarter, mowing down New Year’s Day revelers and killing 14 people, enhanced security measures were in place throughout the city.
Following an emergency declaration, the ATF said it had extra teams on the ground. That included bomb-sniffing dogs at the Superdome Thursday and resources that will remain in place through the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.
An enhanced security perimeter around the Superdome led to road closures for several blocks stretching in each direction.
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While some fans left the city early, many chose to put their faith in pledges from local, state and federal agencies who assured them that the Superdome and the city were safe.
Among them was the Frisco family of Reedy High School graduate Kaleb Smith, who’s now a wide receiver for Notre Dame.
They were on Bourbon Street Wednesday morning and headed back to their hotel about an hour before the attack.
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They said it changed their perspective about today’s game.
“We definitely want to win but after everything that happened, and we just want a safe game. We just want a good environment just to have fun and everyone to make it home safely,” said Smith’s mom Taura Smith.
“Someone lost a life. Someone lost their son. Someone lost, maybe a husband, maybe a daughter, you know. There’s no telling. You know, god definitely took care of us and we’re grateful,” said his brother Kahlil Smith.
The Smiths said they planned to leave for Texas immediately after the game.
For those who stayed, Bourbon Street reopened during kickoff.
“We have reinforced the area. We have deployed some additional types of assets. I personally... I don’t like to give specifics because I don’t like to tell the enemy what we’ve got. But I can tell you we’re in better shape than before," said Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry at a press conference Thursday morning.
