“USA” Chants Break Out At The Sugar Bowl In New Orleans, A Day After Terrorist Attack On Bourbon Street

This is the real America. Of course everybody was shaken by the horrific terrorist attack in New Orleans yesterday, when 42-year old Shamsud Din Jabbar drove a truck onto Bourbon Street in the early morning hours of New Year's Day and killed 14 people while injuring dozens more before opening fire, injuring two police officers before being shot and killed. The FBI revealed that Jabbar had an ISIS flag on his truck, and had posted several videos in the hours leading up to the attack expressing his support for the terrorist organization and revealing that he had planned on killing his family but was worried that it wouldn't attract enough media attention. It was initially reported that officials were searching for others who helped in the attack, but at a press conference this afternoon the FBI revealed that they believe Jabbar acted alone. New Orleans was set to host the Sugar Bowl yesterday, and officials initially announced that the game would go on as scheduled. But after several explosive devices were found planted around the city, and amid questions about whether there were others involved in the attack, officials made the decision to postpone the College Football Playoff game between Georgia and Notre Dame to today out of an abundance of caution, and to ensure that the Caesars Superdome was secure for fans at the game. Bourbon Street reopened earlier today, with enhanced safety measures in place to protect revelers in the street. And this afternoon, fans who stuck around for the delayed game packed into the Superdome for the football game, just blocks away from the horrific attack a day earlier. The ESPN broadcast of the game started with a message from President Joe Biden, expressing his support for the people of New Orleans: "Today all of America stands with the people of New Orleans. We pray for those killed and injured in yesterday's attack, and we are grateful, grateful to the brave first responders who raced to save lives. I'm glad the game is back on today, but I'm not surprised, because the spirit of New Orleans can never be kept down. And that's also true for the spirit of America." https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1874925507361558652 And inside the Dome, fans were eager to send a message to anyone who thinks they can disrupt our freedom and way of life through cowardly acts of terrorism. As the national anthem wrapped up, thunderous chants of "USA" broke out in the crowd, many of whom were no doubt celebrating the new year on Bourbon Street in the hours before or during the attack: https://twitter.com/ZachKleinWSB/status/1874920719701975111 What a beautiful sound. Of course security was greatly enhanced in the Superdome ahead of the game. There's also plenty that we still don't know about the attack, answers that we hope to get as the investigation unfolds. And I'm sure there are plenty of people in New Orleans who are still a little uneasy about getting back out and about so soon after the attack. But that's just what we do. We don't let evil win, and when we get knocked down, we bounce back stronger than ever.