Last week, a truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans killed at least 14 people and injured 35 more in what is being called an act of terrorism by the FBI. Due to the attack and pending investigation, the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome was postponed for 20 hours and impacted the mood surrounding the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup. Jessica Smetana, an alumna of the University of Notre Dame, was in town to attend the game but not out in the French Quarter district when the devastating attack transpired.
Explaining the situation on Monday’s edition of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Smetana divulged that she had been in South Bend, Ind. to watch the team defeat Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Smetana traveled to New Orleans for the quarterfinal matchup, but she ended up leaving the next day following the attacks due to difficulty associated with travel logistics and other obligations at home, she explained on social media. Smetana also shared that she “would have felt really uneasy about attending” and elaborated on the situation on the air.
“I feel super, super lucky that we weren’t on Bourbon Street when the attack happened, but we were there all day on New Year’s Eve, and waking up Wednesday to a hundred texts from loved ones asking if we were okay is just a really jarring feeling,” Smetana said. “So I feel really, really lucky obviously, and I’m glad we’re okay, but it’s a horrible situation.”
Smetana articulated that she shared links on her Instagram story where people can donate to help some of the victims and added that she would repost it Monday as well. The show addressed what took place while discussing other football news, including the impact of Pat McAfee on College GameDay and FOX Sports listing that lead analyst Tom Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl champion in his lower-third graphic.
Le Batard acknowledged that the transition from Smetana’s experience to discussing staying at the Golic household was awkward and later spoke about a purported “aging cynicism” from longtime sports media professionals covering college football. Smetana’s remarks followed Le Batard and co-host Jon “Stugotz” Weiner conveying how Notre Dame is one of, if not the best college football team in the country.
“It’s just an awful, awful, awful situation, and I just feel terrible for all the victims and all the families and everyone who was impacted by the attack on New Year’s Day morning,” Smetana concluded. “It was just truly just a horrific thing.”
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