Georgia, Notre Dame fans make Sugar Bowl decision as game is postponed due to terrorist attack
The Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play in the Sugar Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals Thursday evening after the terrorist attack on Bourbon Street left more than a dozen people dead.
Sugar Bowl officials and lawmakers decided to postpone the game to 4 p.m. ET after what was supposed to be the final game of a three-game playoff series Wednesday. Both schools arrived in New Orleans on Sunday and were reportedly far away from the massacre that hit the city.
The fans who came to the Big Easy insisted on making their plans to keep the game standing.
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A police officer on a bicycle arrives on Canal Street after a car plowed into a crowd in front of New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
Lisa Borrelli, a 34-year-old Philadelphia resident and Notre Dame graduate, came to New Orleans with her boyfriend to watch the Fighting Irish.
“We’re not going to be able to get new planes,” he told The Associated Press, adding that he understood why officials postponed the game and that “it was absolutely the right call.”
Borrelli said they paid more than $250 per ticket and didn’t bother listing them outside because the prices were so low. As of Thursday morning, tickets were going for as low as $26 on some sites.
“Yes, we are disappointed to miss it and lose so much money, but in the end it doesn’t matter,” said Borrelli. “We are lucky that we will go well.”
Darrell Huckaby, a 72-year-old Georgia resident, told the AP that he decided to return home on Thursday instead of sitting out the game. He said he was in the room facing where the attack happened. He said he was asleep when this happened but when he woke up he saw blankets covering the bodies.
Huckaby said he’ll “probably eat” the $360 per ticket he pays.
“It was sad,” he said. “I think the first feeling of a lot of people this morning was wanting to be home. As important as football is to our Georgian culture, for a while, the game didn’t seem as important.
Fans line up at the front desk of the Sheraton Hotel after the Sugar Bowl CFP quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed after an attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025. (Photos by Geoff Burke-Imagn)
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“And I think there was a lot of uncertainty, and I understand that,” Huckaby said. “It took them a long time to decide the game time and people had to make decisions without all the information.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told NBC News on Wednesday that the game should be postponed to Friday.
“It’s not my decision, but I’d like to see it delayed at least another day. If they ask my opinion, I’ll tell them that,” Murrill said. “I think it’s wise to delay it at least one day. This is an active crime scene, and they just got some of the bodies out, and they still haven’t gotten all of them out. I still think we should wait. one more day.”
The Georgia and Notre Dame players spent the day in isolation, spending most of it in the ballrooms conducting meetings. Georgia players were rushed to the Superdome for practice Wednesday evening.
Notre Dame players watched the Rose Bowl quarterfinal with their family. Notre Dame offered band members the option to fly home early and some chose to do so.
The terrorist attack left many injured, including a University of Georgia student.
“I am deeply saddened by the horrific attack that occurred in New Orleans overnight, and I offer my condolences to the victims, their families, and all those affected by this terrible tragedy,” University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead said in a statement.
Sugar Bowl fans from the University of Georgia and Notre Dame stop to take 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, Jan. 1, 2025. (Chris Granger / New Orleans Advocate via AP)
“At this point, we have learned that a University of Georgia student was seriously injured in the attack and is receiving treatment. I have spoken with the student’s family and shared my concern, support and best wishes on behalf of the entire UGA community. I would like to express my gratitude to all the first responders who rushed to help those affected by this senseless act of violence, as well as to the medical staff caring for the injured.”
The University of Georgia Athletic Association and Notre Dame officials said both schools have accounted for all team employees and members of official travel teams.
Security will be tightened at this game. The security perimeter around the facility was “expanded to a large area,” New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno told WDSU-TV before the game was postponed.
“There are many policemen coming in,” he said.
Caesars Superdome is the host site for Super Bowl LIX.
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The Superdome hosted the first Super Bowl after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The city also increased security at the time, with officers, including snipers, on the surrounding skyscrapers, and on the roof of the dome.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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