Fans from two US universities packed a stadium in New Orleans for a highly anticipated football game as the city reeled from the New Year’s attack.
The annual Sugar Bowl, which was due to take place on 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.
Those gathered at the stadium observed a minute’s silence in honor of the victims of Wednesday’s attack.
The game brought thousands of fans to town to see the University of Notre Dame take on the University of Georgia in the 70,000-seat Caesars Superdome.
Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish” eventually emerged victorious, defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 23-10.
Before kick-off, Bourbon Street – where the attack took place on Wednesday – was reopened to the public for the first time since the deadly event.
Yellow barriers, designed to prevent cars from entering the roadway, lined both sides of the street.
Fourteen flowers were placed against the wall at the place where the attacker first drove his car into the crowd.
Many who made their way in came for a few drinks before heading to the stadium for the game, and almost all wore red for Georgia and green or blue and gold for Notre Dame.
When the street reopened, a fan of the Notre Dame varsity football team shouted, “Go fight the Irish! We love life! So live!”
A New Orleans man who was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon after being caught in an assault came straight back to Bourbon Street wearing the same clothes he was wearing on Jan. 1.
Speaking to the BBC, Jovon Miguel Bell lifted his shirt to reveal cuts and bruises on his torso, which he said were the result of being trampled.
“I’m blessed, to be honest. God is good,” he said. “Blessings to the victims and their families.”
Mr Bell admitted he was “drunk as hell” at the time of the attack but has a vague recollection of what landed him in hospital.
“I’m walking down the street and I hear screaming. Uproar. Chaos,” he said. “As soon as I turned around, I got hit [by a person] and fall to the ground. They stepped on me, more than once.”
Now free from the hospital, he went straight back to Bourbon Street bars while the Sugar Bowl game was underway, where he said he felt lucky to have escaped with minor injuries.
Ahead of the game, state officials assured the public that the city had taken extra precautions.
Brian Williams, a Georgia fan, told the BBC that “the bad guys would have won” if the game had been canceled or postponed further after the attack.
“Nowhere is going to be safer now than New Orleans,” he said as he motioned to a small group of state troopers on Bourbon Street. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
Like other football fans in town for the game, Mr. Williams said the mood was somber when he arrived in town early Wednesday.
“It felt bad. It was weird being out in the city and we couldn’t even get to Bourbon Street,” said Mr. Williams. “But this place will soon be back to normal.”
Master P, a New Orleans native and rap singer whose full name is Percy Robert Miller, visited Bourbon Street on Thursday to assure local residents that he will do whatever he can to help the city recover.
“We have to show people that we are not stopping. We are moving on,” he said. “Not even this evil that has come against us will stop us.”
Mr Miller described the city as one where people come to “celebrate” and described it as “our culture”.
Jefferson County Sheriff Joseph Lopinto told reporters Thursday that the college football game will be safe for fans who have come to town.
“It will probably be one of the safest places in the country,” said Mr. Lopinto. “If my child wanted to come to the game, I wouldn’t have a problem.”
As the sun set over Bourbon Street Thursday, many locals said they were confident the vibrant area would bounce back quickly from the attack.
Among them was Darnell Simmons, a 23-year-old brass band member who played at the Bourbon House Oyster Bar.
“A terrible thing happened here,” he said. “But we’re back, we’re here to remember those we’ve lost.”
The bar’s owner, Dickie Brennan, said he felt “incredibly emotional” to hear music returning to Bourbon Street.
“We overcame Katrina. God knows how many hurricanes, oil spills, crime,” he added, referring to the 2005 hurricane that left more than 1,300 dead. “One guy is not going to stop this wonderful city and special neighborhood.”
“This city is resilient. We have to be.”
Shortly after 3:00 a.m. local time on January 1, officials said a 42-year-old Army veteran, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, killed 14 people and injured dozens more when he drove his pickup truck into the New Year’s holiday crowd.
Before Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police during the attack, he announced his allegiance to the Islamic State group in videos posted on social media, according to the FBI.
The Sugar Bowl is watched by millions of Americans every year, traditionally on New Year’s Day.
The game, along with the Los Angeles Rose Bowl, is a major tourist attraction for the city.
The Sugar Bowl dates back to 1935, hosting many of the greatest coaches, players and teams in college football history.
The Super Bowl, America’s biggest sporting event, is scheduled for February 9 at the same venue in New Orleans as the Sugar Bowl.
Additional reporting by the BBC’s Anne Adams.
