There is always, locals say, something going on in New Orleans. This weekend, it’s the Super Bowl. For the 11th time, the Big Easy will play host to the Big Game, adding another chapter in a long legacy of on-field drama and off-field debauchery.
New Orleans hosted its first Super Bowl on Jan. 11, 1970: Super Bowl IV, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Minnesota Vikings. The Super Bowl was a new invention at the time, a true crossover event between the dueling American Football League and National Football Leagues. The two leagues – which would merge into what is now the modern NFL the following season – had a few criteria for the game: it had to be played somewhere warm, and it had to seat a lot of fans. For the 1970 championship, Miami’s Orange Bowl, host of the previous two years, was a strong contender, but it had just hosted back-to-back championships, and…
