NEW ORLEANS, La. — Following the Jan. 1 attack in New Orleans, Georgia Bulldogs fans in town for the Sugar Bowl scrambled to figure out what’s next for them with the game being postponed a day.
UGA fans Chris Efferth, Haley Efferth, and Joe Fernandez, this week was supposed to be a celebration.
But after going to bed after New Year’s Eve fireworks, they woke up to concerned calls and text messages.
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“You see your phone blowing up. ‘Are you okay, are you safe?’ You go, ‘What is going on?’ Haley Efferth told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna.
The group learned that a man used a truck to kill at least 15 people on Bourbon Street.
Law enforcement also located numerous improvised explosive devices (IEDs) throughout the French Quarter.
“It is a little surreal because of the exact location where it happened, we were there Monday night,” Chris Efferth said.
“We were literally in the French Quarter yesterday. How long were those IEDs there? Where did they find them? How long were they there? Are there other people out there?” Haley Efferth asked.
And while the trio processed the situation, authorities announced the Sugar Bowl would be postponed a day, leaving them and around 75,000 other fans in town for the game to scramble to make new plans on New Year’s Day.
“Today is a holiday for almost everyone, so getting in contact with people like bosses or a host of rentals is very difficult,” Fernandez said.
They remain optimistic that their stay will be extended and plan to go to the game on Thursday.
But they said the entire time, safety will be at the top of their mind.
“I know the game tomorrow, there will be an increased presence of police. But I’m still freaked out, it’s still scary. You just don’t know, you just don’t know,” Haley Efferth said.
She said they didn’t not plan to leave their Airbnb much at all on Wednesday and if they do go to the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, they will go straight there and back instead of experiencing the area around the stadium as they had originally planned.
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