NOLA Road Trip Day 6: Game Day

Tuesday was the day that we had been waiting for and the purpose of the whole trip to New Orleans; at last it was finally Sugar Bowl game day!

We got a late start on the day and decided to go for an early lunch at Johnny's Po' Boys, where I had a half of a shrimp po' boy and a cup of gumbo and Frank had a shrimp and oyster po' boy. The po' boys were absolutely fantastic and during a trip full of good food they were one of the best things we ate in New Orleans. Luckily there wasn't any wait when we went since we had seen lines going down the street the day before when it was closer to lunch time.

After lunch we headed to the Louisiana State Museum at the Cabildo which we had tried the visit the previous day but had been closed for the holidays. The Cabildo was the seat of colonial Louisiana government and is famous as being the site where the Louisiana Purchase was signed. We saw a lot of great exhibits about the life before and after the Louisiana Purchase, the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The coolest thing I learned was that Napoleon had strong armed Spain into returning Louisiana to France in 1800 with the Treaty of San Ildefonso but kept it secret until it was quickly transferred in 1803 so Napolean could sell it to the US to raise funds for his war with Great Britain.

We then went next door to the Presbytere to see the Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond exhibit. The exhibit was well done showing what led up to the hurricane and the damage it inflicted on New Orleans. In the front hall they had on display Fats Domino's piano which had been damaged in the storm. The best part for me was a video installation set in old windows where residents talked about how Katrina affected them and what makes New Orleans so special that they felt compelled to stay and rebuild. It was a nice, hopeful message after seeing all of the destruction.

We then headed upstairs to see the Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in Louisiana exhibit which showcased the tradition of Carnival and Mardi Gras in Louisiana. They had a lot of wonderful costumes on display and I liked that they showed how things were celebrated in areas beyond New Orleans as well.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Bourbon Street which was packed with fans in town for the Sugar Bowl. It was fun to see everyone dressed up in their Michigan and Virginia Tech gear and I was happy to see that the Michigan fans out numbered the Tech fans. There was tons of spirit in the air and I can't even count how many times I yelled 'Go Blue!' or sang The Victors that day. 

About an hour and a half before game time we headed over to the Superdome. There was a huge party in Champions Square with a band performing so we hung out there until it was time to go into the stadium.

For the game we had awesome seats, but it was a not a great game to watch. Michigan looked rusty from being off since the end of November, but Virginia Tech kept making mistakes which kept us in the game. At the end of four quarters the score was tied at 20 so we headed into overtime and we ended up winning 23-20 with a field goal by Brendan Gibbons. Even though it wasn't the best game it was a great result and a wonderful way for Team 132 of the Michigan Wolverines to end a very successful season.

If you are interested, check out the rest of our road trip to New Orleans here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 7