On January 1, 2025, at 3:15 AM, a pickup truck driven by a man named Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more. Bourbon Street is one of the most popular and crowded spots in New Orleans. When the gut-wrenching news hit the city, people were shocked by this horrifying attack. Another thought that was going through people’s heads was the Sugar Bowl that same day which was being played only two miles from the attack. A decision was made by the Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley to postpone the game to Jan. 2. At a media briefing, Hundley said “All parties all agree that it’s in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game.” This showed the city and all of the fans that this attack.

Looking past the Sugar Bowl, another thing that people were thinking about is the upcoming Super Bowl. Both of these big events were both in the proximity of the attack and raised a lot of red alarms to these big events happening. This attack could have a large effect on the fans willingness to go to the event and the ticket price. As many fans were worried about one of the biggest events in the U.S, homeland security sent a nation wind report that they will be ramping up the security at the Super Bowl. This is very significant because year after year the Super Bowl is a SEAR one rating on security. SEAR is a Special Event Assessment Rating that is put on events. This level of security is the highest potential threat rating the government can assign to an event. This type of security is also used for other big events like Mardi Gras and for the president.
As many people know, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest consumer events of the year. This attack could affect if fans still want to go on not. When asking freshman Moe Woll, who is planning on going to the Super Bowl, about his thoughts on going he said, “The attack does not affect me going at all. I think that it will be safe when I am there, and I have no concerns about going.” The Super Bowl has always been known to be safe, so fans should not be worried about their safety. With the events that are leading up to the Super Bowl there are going to be a lot of people that still want to party and hang out in the Street. Even before this attack many people were worried about the wide open street with no barriers or ways to stop cars from getting through. To combat this, a head of security in New Orleans said that there will be high security measures to protect the people in the Streets. This should ensure that the people in New Orleans should have a fun and safe Super Bowl.