Sugar Bowl goes on in New Orleans after deadly attack

Fans from two US universities filled a stadium in New Orleans for a highly anticipated American football game as the city reels from a New Year’s Day attack.

The annual Sugar Bowl, which was scheduled to take place Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday at 15:00 local time (21:00 GMT) after a Texas man drove through a crowded New Orleans street, killing 14 people.

People gathered in the stadium partook in a moment of silence to remember the victims of Wednesday’s attack.

The game brought thousands of fans to the city to see the University of Notre Dame take on the University of Georgia at the 70,000-seat Caesars Superdome.

Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish” ultimately emerged the winner, beating the Georgia Bulldogs 23-10.

Ahead of the game’s start, Bourbon Street – where the attack took place on Wednesday – reopened to the public for the first time since the deadly event.

Yellow barriers, designed to prevent cars from driving onto the pavement, lined both sides of the street.

Fourteen flowers were laid against a wall at the spot where the attacker first drove into a crowd.

Many who trickled in had come to have a few drinks before heading over to the stadium for the game, with almost everyone wearing red for Georgia, and green or blue and gold for Notre Dame.

As the street reopened, a fan of the Notre Dame college football team yelled: “Go fighting Irish! We love life! So let’s live!”

A New Orleans man who was discharged from the hospital on Thursday afternoon after being caught up in the attack, headed straight back to Bourbon Street dressed in the same clothes he was wearing on 1 January.

Speaking to the BBC, Jovon Miguel Bell lifted his shirt to show cuts and bruises across his torso, which he said were the result of getting trampled.

“I’m blessed, to be honest. God is good,” he said. “Blessings to the victims and their families.”

Mr Bell admitted he was “drunk as hell” at the time of the attack, but does vaguely remember what landed him in hospital.

“I’m walking down the street and I hear the screams. Ruckus. Chaos,” he said. “As soon as I turn around, I got hit [by a person] and fall to the ground. I got stepped on, multiple times.”

Now free from hospital, he headed straight back to the bars of Bourbon Street as the Sugar Bowl game was ongoing, where he said he felt lucky he escaped with minor injuries.

Ahead of the game, state authorities assured the public that the city had taken additional safety precautions.

Brian Williams, a Georgia supporter, told the BBC that “the bad guys would have won” if the game had been cancelled or further postponed after the attack.

“Nowhere will be safer than New Orleans now,” he said, as he gestured at a small group of state troopers on Bourbon Street. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

Like other football fans in town for the game, Mr Williams said the mood was sombre when he arrived in town early Wednesday.

“It felt off. It felt weird to be out in town, and we couldn’t even get to Bourbon Street,” Mr Williams said. “But this place will be back to normal soon.”

Master P, a New Orleans native and rap singer whose full name is Percy Robert Miller, visited Bourbon Street on Thursday to reassure local resident he would do whatever he could to help the city recover.

“We’ve got to show the people we’re not stopping. We are going to move on,” he said. “Even this evil stuff that came against us is not going to stop us.”

Mr Miller described the city as one where people come to “celebrate” and described it as “our culture”.

Jefferson County Sheriff Joseph Lopinto told reporters Thursday the college football match would be secure for fans who have come to the city.

“It’s probably going to be one of the safest places in the country,” Mr Lopinto said. “If my kid wanted to come to the game, I’d have no problem.”

As the sun set over Bourbon Street on Thursday, many locals said they were confident that the vibrant area would bounce back quickly after the attack.

Among them was Darnell Simmons, a 23-year-old member of a brass band playing at the Bourbon House Oyster bar.

“A terrible thing happened here,” he said. “But we’re back, we’re here to remember those we lost.”

The bar’s owner, Dickie Brennan, said he felt “incredibly emotional” to hear music return to Bourbon Street.

“We overcame Katrina. God knows how many hurricanes, oil spills, crime,” he added, referring to the 2005 hurricane that left more than 1,300 dead. “One guy will not stop this beautiful city and special neighbourhood.”

“This city is resilient. We have to be.”

Just after 3:00 local time on 1 January officials say 42-year-old army veteran, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, killed 14 people and wounded dozens more when he drove a pick-up truck into crowds for the New Years holiday.

Before Jabbar was killed in a shoot-out with police during the attack, he had proclaimed his allegiance to the Islamic State group in videos uploaded to social media, according to the FBI.

The Sugar Bowl is watched by millions of Americans every year, traditionally on New Year’s Day.

The game, along with the Los Angeles Rose Bowl, is a big tourist draw for the city.

The Sugar Bowl dates back to 1935, playing host to many of the best coaches, players and teams in college football history.

The Super Bowl, America’s biggest sporting event, is scheduled for 9 February at the same New Orleans venue as the Sugar Bowl.

Additional reporting from the BBC’s Anna Adams.