New Orleans Title Game Diary: Scene One

By Spencer Hall
I’d forgotten how absolutely cool New Orleans actually is--or should I say, the part I’m operating in, at least. It seems like Katrina didn’t damage the vital organs of the tourist economy: the casinos shine with neon, Bourbon Street seems a bit cleaner than before, and the hotels are squeaky clean. Correction: every hotel but my hotel is squeaky clean.
Ohio State fans have trumped the SEC speed myth in terms of travel: tons of them are already here, and they hit Bourbon Street early and often. The “O-H!” “I-O!” cheer was ubiquitous. The less numerous LSU fans on the street contented themselves with the occasional “Tiger Bait†and waited for local reinforcements to arrive on the weekend.
Ohio State fans’ outfit of choice: long-sleeve white t-shirt, short sleeve red shirt. LSU fans’ favorite outfit? This picture:
[img=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2192/2169050144_43a547058f.jpg]
A quick survey of the dealers at Harrah’s reveals that thus far, the Hawaii football fans earned the best reviews as football tourists: jovial, laid-back, and generous with cash. We won’t say who didn’t earn rave reviews for courtesy and tipping, but their home state rhymes with “Georgia.” (To be fair, being as nice as Hawaii fans seems like a challenge.)
LSU football players were seen out and about, but they were seen merely strolling down Bourbon Street looking huge and extremely relaxed, not partying wildly and punching polices horses or anything.
Random, potentially meaningless omen of the day: an Ohio State fan sat down next to me at the roulette table, wearing a red sweatshirt reading “BUCKEYES.†He confidently plucked down a hundred on red and yelled out “That’s on red. BUCKEYES!!! O-H!â€
No one yelled back at him. The ball spun, and he lost.
The other crowd of people in town for the week? A convention of economists. Try all you like, people. You can’t compete with the crowd of raging economists on the streets of New Orleans this weekend. Football fans shiver at the partying these people do.
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