To stay or go? Georgia fans face complicated decision in terror-stricken New Orleans

Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jan 2, 2025

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NEW ORLEANS — The legions of Georgia football fans who journeyed to watch the Sugar Bowl showdown in the Big Easy face a decision that’s anything but simple after the playoff game was delayed by an unspeakable tragedy.

Stay and watch their beloved Bulldogs take on Notre Dame in a heavily guarded Superdome on Thursday for a game forever marred by a New Year’s Day terror attack that killed at least 15 and injured many more?

Or return home amid a still-unfolding investigation of an attack that left authorities confident the attacker acted alone after violence that President Joe Biden said had been “inspired by” the Islamic State terrorist organization.

It was no easy choice for fans, many of whom felt a sense of survivors guilt — or at least a guilty conscience — at the prospect of reveling in celebratory nirvana over a college football game days after a 42-year-old Texas man rammed his truck into a dazed Bourbon Street crowd.

“I’m staying,” said Jason Shepherd, a Kennesaw State University political science professor who decided with friends to stick with their trip as they drove into Louisiana on Wednesday. “But I understand the people who turned back. There’s no right answer.”

For some, sticking with their plans in New Orleans was an act of defiance.

Philip Rafshoon, a nonprofit executive, had returned to his French Quarter hotel early Wednesday just a few minutes before the attack. He awoke to a torrent of messages from worried friends. Hours later, authorities revealed they found two potential homemade bombs that never went off in the neighborhood.

“There’s a sense of dread that hangs over the city. But you have to think about how thankful we are to be alive,” he said late Wednesday, stepping out of a dinner with friends at an upscale seafood restaurant.

“I was in Centennial Olympic Park in 1996 before the bombing. It felt exactly the same it did the morning after that. It’s just doom and gloom. But you have to go on — you have to appreciate being alive.”

Tricia Dittlau hardly hesitated about her decision to return home. By Wednesday evening, she was on a plane back to Atlanta with her 23-year-old son and his friend.

“The news was saying the guy didn’t act alone and there might be more suspects,” said Dittlau, a sales executive, referring to early comments from authorities who initially said there could be additional suspects. “All their friends were also super concerned and agitated.”

Other fans also spoke of the sense of continuing danger in New Orleans, even as authorities readied to reopen Bourbon Street amid tightening security.

“The City of New Orleans is not only ready for game day today, but we’re ready to continue to host large-scale events in our city,” said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “Because we are built to host at every single turn.”

Added Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry: “Right now, this is one of the safest places on Earth. That doesn’t mean that something can’t happen.”

For David Asman, the swirl of developments and rumors is hard to keep up with. Like other Georgia fans, David Asman said he can’t stop thinking of the victims and their families. But he also noted the seemingly ubiquitous law enforcement presence even before the attack.

“How safe do I feel? I don’t know if I feel safer anywhere in the world than here, where police seem to be everywhere,” said Asman, an Athens restaurateur who trekked to New Orleans with his wife, Amy, and a group of college friends. “A really scary thing happened here, but does lightning strike twice?”

As the game neared, red-and-black clad crowds swelled across New Orleans. Georgia fans shopped along Magazine Street, tossed back Hurricanes in the French Quarter and dined along the Garden District. That’s where Rafshoon and his friends gathered for a meal hours earlier.

“I’m not going to change my way of living. We are going to go out and support businesses here,” said Rafshoon. “And we will definitely be back. You can’t let fear choose your path.”