Super Bowl XLVII
Friday, February 1, 2013
All in a Super Bowl week
Posted by Kevin Allman, Alex Woodward and Charles Maldonado on Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 5:22 PM
- KEVIN ALLMAN
- An aerialist practices at Mardi Gras World while awaiting thousands of reporters at the Super Bowl XLVII press party.
On Monday, Mayor Mitch Landrieu took the first ceremonial ride on the new Loyola Avenue streetcar before rushing down to the not-new-but-newly refurbished Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Landrieu was set to address members of the national and international press about Super Bowl XLVII, which was already beginning to make itself known in terms of traffic in the CBD and French Quarter.
“This is bigger than Super Bowl. This is about the resurrection of a city,” Landrieu told the press.
While Landrieu was speaking, the Wild West-style social media site Reddit was hosting an “AMA” (Ask Me Anything) online chat with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell — Public Enemy No. 1 for many in the Black and Gold Nation. The chat was quickly crashed by disgruntled New Orleans Saints fans expressing salty opinions about the commish. (Also in on the bashing: outspoken Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe.)
And while all this was happening, a photo was inciting outrage in New Orleans’ social media rounds — a picture of the Andrew Jackson statue in Jackson Square hung with a giant logo for the CBS daytime yap show The Talk. (After calls to Landrieu’s office and to CBS, the sign was removed and not replaced.)
Meanwhile, the Super Bowl was still six days away …
Roger Goodell talks bounties, brains, regrets and hospitality
Posted by Alex Woodward on Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 2:30 PM
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not the most popular guy. We've been reminded, often, lately, about his help to keep the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, how he wants the Superdome to remain a Super Bowl destination, and how we should put the past behind us and move forward and just enjoy the game, will ya. Grudge-holding Saints fans, however, will forever remember Goodell as the villain in the 2012-2013 Saints season. His unpopularity was so obvious the dude was the subject of a lecture on politeness courtesy of Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who reminded the city to "be on your best behavior," knowing full well (and sympathizing with) the bitterness, and the "Go to Hell Goodell"s and "Do Not Serve This Man"s around town. Oh, and then there's the Krewe du Vieux float picturing Goodell being eaten by a giant vagina. Guy has had a rough couple weeks.
Today, Goodell made his first public Super Bowl XLVII appearance in New Orleans before a massive press crowd. No tomatoes were thrown. He had nothing but kind things to say about the city, but also to Saints fans. WWL-TV's Paul Murphy asked, "Do you feel welcome here?"
"I couldn't feel more welcome here. ... I had a float in a Mardi Gras parade. I'm serious — people here have been incredible," he said. "I understand a fan's loyalty is to the team. They had no part in this. They were completely innocent in this. I appreciate the passion. I saw it for myself when we were down here for Katrina. It's clear that's what they're all about."
Cab drivers face long wait times at city inspection station
Posted by Charles Maldonado on Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 2:20 PM
As the countdown to the Super Bowl quickly winds down, and throngs of out-of-towners descend on New Orleans for the game, cab drivers are still facing heavy wait times for city inspections proving they're in compliance with the Landrieu administration's taxi reform rules, which were passed by City Council last year and recently survived a legal challenge.
Many drivers, concerned they'll miss out on tourism business if they're not able to get an inspection soon, say the city hasn't done enough to improve service at its inspection station in eastern New Orleans.
Just after 10 a.m. today, lines of cabs at the inspection station, stretching from the inspection building around a long curved driveway, all the way out to Old Gentilly Road. The station is open only four hours per day, three days per week for new inspections, five days if a driver has to return for re-inspection.
"If you don't have the inspection tags, you don't work," said Mohammad Ashraf. "Then you come and sit here all day."
A driver standing nearby, who declined to give his name, said he had been waiting since 3:20 a.m.
![Were waiting almost five hours, said Seid Ali. Its just two people [doing inspections].](http://www.bestofneworleans.com/binary/b5ad/1359749640-seid_ali.jpg "Were waiting almost five hours, said Seid Ali. Its just two people [doing inspections].")
Ashraf said he was there for a re-inspection after failing an initial inspection because of his car's paint job. Along with the fares he's lost waiting for his inspection, he said he's spent between $1,600 and $1,700 so far to come into compliance with the new rules. For drivers who've had to replace cars older than the city-mandated maximum of 11 years, costs can run significantly higher than that.
“It’s a big investment for each car," Syed Kazmi said. “It’s about $15,000 per cab.”
(More after the jump)
A gathering of old friends
Posted by Clancy DuBos on Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 9:01 AM
Roger Goodell looked a tad uneasy as he stepped off the elevator onto the 23rd floor of the Windsor Court Hotel Wednesday evening. Every eye in the room turned immediately toward him. Superdome CEO Doug Thornton shook the commissioner’s hand and reassured him, “You’re with family here, Roger.”
Goodell could be forgiven a little apprehension. Just about everyone in the room was a New Orleanian and a Saints fan.
But this event was not about the Saints or bountygate. Nor was it a traditional pre-Super Bowl dinner. It was instead a gathering of old friends, some of whom came to know one another in the fateful days after Hurricane Katrina, to celebrate the dramatic — miraculous would not be too strong a word — post-Katrina reconstruction of the Superdome. Without that miracle, there would be no Super Bowl in New Orleans this Sunday.
Wednesday’s reception and dinner, hosted by SMG and the New Orleans Saints, was a sincere “thank you” to those who made the miracle happen, starting with Goodell and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Other honorees included Saints owner Tom Benson, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, local business leaders, and the contractors, architects and engineers who collectively made it possible for the Saints to play that memorable Monday night game in the Dome against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 25, 2006.
“The biggest sports story in New Orleans history was not the Saints winning the Super Bowl,” said Thornton. “It was that Monday night game, that blocked punt by Steve Gleason, that inspired our city and the rest of the nation. It proved that in New Orleans, anything was possible.”
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Beyonce: "I love haters."
Posted by Alex Woodward on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 4:40 PM
- ALEX WOODWARD
- Beyonce
"Would you guys mind standing?"
Beyonce stepped onto the stage as an American flag graphic waved on the stage-sized screen behind her. She launched into a flawless, a capella rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," ending with, "Any questions?"
That pretty much evaporated any redundant questions about her performance at President Barack Obama's inauguration, during which she performed with a pre-recorded track to the national anthem. That reveal shocked the press, or those who doubted her talent — which Beyonce Bureau Chief Lauren LaBorde or myself would be happy to remind you is limitless.
Gambit TV: 3-Day Weekend A&E picks, Super Bowl edition
Posted by Gambit TV on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 11:15 AM
Gambit's Kevin Allman stopped by WWL-TV's New Orleans Tonight yesterday to talk with Sheba Turk and Tamica Lee about some of the big events leading up to the Super Bowl, while Noah Bonaparte Pais did the same thing today on the WWL Eyewitness Morning News.
While many of the big parties are either invite-only or sold out, there's a four-day festival in Woldenberg Park that starts tonight, with dozens of local bands, food booths and other fun — and admission is free. Alex Woodward breaks down the schedule here.
Here's the schedule for Super Bowl Boulevard music and food fest
Posted by Alex Woodward on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 10:25 AM
That is, Verizon's Super Bowl Boulevard, the free four-day music and food event from Super Bowl XLVII spanning Woldenberg Park from Jackson Square to Canal Street.
The festival opens tonight with the delivery of the Super Bowl XLVII numerals by barge — they'll arrive at 6:30 p.m. The music starts at 5 p.m. There's also food from 17 restaurants and vendors, all serving 50 dishes, from crab cakes and bread pudding to hot dogs from Vaucresson's Sausage Company.
Find more info about the event in Gambit, and check below for the full daily lineup.
Ten great moments in Beyonce history
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 9:57 AM
Downtown New Orleans is abuzz with excitement, traffic and swarms of athletes, celebrities, athlete-celebrities and media types, which means only one thing — the Beyonce concert is quickly approaching.
OK, fine. It’s the Super Bowl and Beyonce is the halftime entertainment. But for those of us who only care about cheese dips, making sure someone is DVR-ing the Puppy Bowl and that this thing ends before Girls, Sunday’s event is a Beyonce concert bookended by some large men throwing footballs around. Anderson Cooper would agree with me.
To honor this momentous occasion in which pop star royalty is in our midst and will grace us with her performance at the 2013 expensive commercial showcase — ugh, OK, the Super Bowl — here are 10 great moments in Beyonce's career.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
NFL Experience opens: Deuce, the Lombardi, "epic" and peanut M&Ms
Posted by Alex Woodward on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 6:38 PM
- ALEX WOODWARD
- Fans pose with the Lombardi trophy.
St. Augustine High School's Marching 100 blasted through the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and at its lead were Louisiana State Police, looking crisp in blue and really pissed off (or stern, can't tell), surrounding Deuce McCallister, whose gloved hands carried the Vince Lombardi Trophy down a red carpet to its glass-cased throne under a massive portrait of itself.
That long-winded sentence is to say that people really love the Lombardi trophy. When the NFL Experience opened this afternoon, New Orleans Saints fans were first in line. When McAllister smiled and strolled (albeit in a cloud of armed protection surrounded by a layer of flashing cameras) with the Lombardi, fans were locked in its not-so-distant memory tractor beam — a token of the Super Bowl XLIV win, the beloved Deuuuuuuce chant, "party with the Lombardi." Instant heart-tugging nostalgia set in for those first-in-the-door Saints fans.
Though some out-of-town visitors squinted and asked, "Who is that?" (but not in that way overplayed ironic way of saying "Who Dat.")
Top Commenters
Recent Comments
-
Re: Essence Festival 2013 daily schedule announced
Yesssssssss
-
on May 18, 2013
-
Re: Benefit for Mother's Day shooting victims May 23 at Tip’s
HumidCity will do everything it can to assist. If there is something we can do…
- on May 17, 2013
-
Re: Sunday: Divine Ladies Second Line
Wow, great!
Throw another party in the city with the highest poverty rate in…- on May 17, 2013
-
Re: Big Tymers will release a new album... without Mannie Fresh
Can you say it's The Beatles without John?
Or can it be Miami Vice…- on May 16, 2013
-
Re: Encore screenings of Timecode:nola's Where Y'at (hello) presented at Chalmette Movies
an excellent movie! my review - http://www.neauxreelidea.com/2013/04/revie…
- on May 15, 2013
-
Re: Review: The Great Gatsby
The road to Hell is paved in unbought stuffed dogs.
- on May 15, 2013
-
Re: The Mother's Day shootings: What constitutes an act of terror?
Long how many more billions we spend to prevent the FBI's definition of terrorism versus…
-
on May 15, 2013
-
Re: Rice Mill Lofts: a haven for divorced people who love ironic graffiti
To Backatcha:
Your Typical "Short-Sighted Mean Spirited, Long Term Pain" Comment is why New…- on May 15, 2013
-
Re: Rice Mill Lofts: a haven for divorced people who love ironic graffiti
Boy what a mean spirited article downing some one else's hard work. I am surprised…
- on May 15, 2013
-
Re: Mid-City yoga studio plans a new vegetarian restaurant
Bikram Choudhury
I have been exploring for a slight for any high excellence articles or…- on May 15, 2013
-
Re: Gambit second line correspondent Big Red Cotton among 12 shot at Mother's Day second line.
??? Really??? The whole neighborhood? NOLA is a city...and obviously the drug trade wants to…
- on May 15, 2013
-
Re: Villalobos pitbull rescue center opens tomorrow
Hi Tia, I have a pitbull that needs to be rescued, you have rescued 2…
-
on May 14, 2013
- More »
