NEW ORLEANS—Georgia and Notre Dame fans packed a plaza adjacent to the Superdome and enjoyed music under clear skies—under the watch of snipers on rooftops—before filtering into the stadium for Thursday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl.
“It was a lot of fun. It felt safe,” said Shannon Horsey, a Georgia fan in her 40s who lives in Austin, Texas. “Coming in they searched my bag thoroughly. So I felt like, OK, they’re really paying attention.”
