1. We are a compact city.


Saints fans who went to the Super Bowl in Florida last year remember how far they had to go to the stadium which was not really in Miami but some fledgling suburb. And, please: Fort Worth? The Superdome is so close to the French Quarter and most downtown hotels that fans can just walk to it.


2. We have a domed stadium.


Other cities have one too, such as Indianapolis where the game will be played next year, but imagine standing in the security lines when the wind chill factor is plunging south?

3. We can handle crowds.


In fact, New Orleans practically performs at it best when it is crowded. There are lots of hotels, restaurants and things to do, plus a police department that, because of Mardi Gras, is one of the world’s best at crowd control.

4. The Vieux Carré.


And after the game, fans are only a few blocks away from a bouncy neighborhood for either celebrating or forgetting their sorrows.

5. We’re nice folks.


Visitors will encounter few snobs here. New Orleanians have had to work at survival. We have never had the luxury of being smug. We’re a port city so we are used to all kinds of different people, yet we’re not so harried that we don’t have time to tell them hello.

Also remember we’ll gladly tell you our Katrina stories (everyone has one and they are all good); just don’t ask about the playoff game against Seattle.

NEW: SEE ERROL LABORDE’S MARDI GRAS VIDEO HERE.
Krewe: The Early New Orleans Carnival – Comus to Zulu by Errol Laborde is available at all area bookstores. Books can also be ordered via e-mail at gdkrewe@aol.com or (504) 895-2266.
WATCH INFORMED SOURCES, FRIDAYS AT 7 P.M., REPEATED AT 11:30 P.M. ON WYES-TV, CHANNEL 12.

