New Orleans — At this year's Super Bowl, even the high rollers will be walking.
So much in America has changed since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and America's biggest sporting event is no exception.
Security is priority No. 1 in New Orleans this week. It means the limousines that normally overtake a Super Bowl city, shuttling the hordes of big names and big spenders who infiltrate each year, will be parked on Super Sunday. That includes the guy who's throwing the party.
"No one drives up to the game," said NFL vice president Jim Steeg. "Paul Tagliabue is walking. If the commissioner is walking, everybody's walking."
That's just one example of the extra measures being taken to protect the 65,000 fans who will fill the Superdome for Sunday's game between New England and St. Louis, and the thousands more who will be in New Orleans to celebrate.
The Super Bowl has been designated a National Special Security Event, with none other than the Secret Service overseeing the operation.
Remember no-fly zones in Iraq? They now have one near the Superdome, duplicating the measures taken at the World Series, and at a number of sporting events in the direct aftermath of Sept. 11.
And if fans thought the searches were inconvenient at those games, or the airport in the post-9-11 world, just wait 'til they get to the Super Bowl.
NFL security director Milt Ahlerich is suggesting fans get to the stadium several hours early. Fans, vendors, media and VIPs will all be subject to thorough searches that could include X-ray machines, metal detectors and pat-downs.
Workers began erecting the eight-foot-high fences and concrete barricades to form a barrier around the Superdome weeks ago. As a result, the closest some cars can get to the Superdome is about two blocks.
"This will be a secure event, a safe event," said Ahlerich, an ex-FBI agent. "Everything is being taken into consideration."
A task force of state, local and federal officials has been working on the security plan for months, but part of the goal is to make the games look "normal."
Yes, the number of police and security personnel surrounding the dome will be nearly doubled over a normal game about 2,000 will be present. And yes, the traffic patterns will change. But many of the security workers will be in plain clothes.
There were snipers visible on the roof of Yankee Stadium, and there's no reason to believe they won't be around again for this game.
One thing that will be missing from this year's game are the cameras used to scan the faces of people at last year's Super Bowl. All those cameras are in Salt Lake City, being rigged up for the Olympics.
The lawmen will, however, have a new piece of computer software that will allow police to run on the spot background checks from federal, state and local databases.
"These devices put the information at our fingertips without having to go through the radio or a cell phone," said Sgt. William Davis. "You can get the information almost instantly."
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