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Fans from two US universities filled a stadium in New Orleans for a highly anticipated American football game as the city reels from a New Year’s Day attack.
The annual Sugar Bowl, which was scheduled to take place Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday at 15:00 local time (21:00 GMT) after a Texas man drove through a crowded New Orleans street, killing 14 people.
People gathered in the stadium partook in a moment of silence to remember the victims of Wednesday’s attack.
The game brought thousands of fans to the city to see the University of Notre Dame take on the University of Georgia at the 70,000-seat Caesars Superdome.
Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish” ultimately emerged the winner, beating the Georgia Bulldogs 23-10.
Ahead of the game’s start, Bourbon Street – where the attack took place on Wednesday – reopened to the public for the first time since the deadly event.
Yellow barriers, designed to prevent cars from driving onto the pavement, lined both sides of the street.
Fourteen flowers were laid against a wall at the spot where the attacker first drove into a crowd.
Many who trickled in had come to have a few drinks before heading over to the stadium for the game, with almost everyone wearing red for Georgia, and green or blue and gold for Notre Dame.
As the street reopened, a fan of the Notre Dame college football team yelled: “Go fighting Irish! We love life! So let’s live!”
A New Orleans man who was discharged from the hospital on Thursday afternoon after being caught up in the attack, headed straight back to Bourbon Street dressed in the same clothes he was wearing on 1 January.
Speaking to the BBC, Jovon Miguel Bell lifted his shirt to show cuts and bruises across his torso, which he said were the result of getting trampled.
“I’m blessed, to be honest. God is good,” he said. “Blessings to the victims and their families.”
Ahead of the game, state authorities assured the public that the city had taken additional safety precautions.
Brian Williams, a Georgia supporter, told the BBC that “the bad guys would have won” if the game had been cancelled or further postponed after the attack.
Master P, a New Orleans native and rap singer, visited Bourbon Street on Thursday to reassure local residents he would do whatever he could to help the city recover.
“We’ve got to show the people we’re not stopping. We are going to move on,” he said. “Even this evil stuff that came against us is not going to stop us.”
As the sun set over Bourbon Street on Thursday, many locals said they were confident that the vibrant area would bounce back quickly after the attack.
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