Super Bowl LIX brings the world to New Orleans
When Jerin "Jerk" Beasley sat down to create the art that would become a limited edition collaboration with the NFL Shop, the New Orleans artist drew on the beadwork and feathers of Mardi Gras Indians.
Why it matters: The resulting work, like the Super Bowl LIX logo that local artist Queen Tahj designed, threads the massive NFL event with the city that hosts it this year.
And now, it all comes together this weekend on the world's biggest stage.
The big picture: New Orleans has spent months sprucing up, working through a to-do list hundreds of items long.
Some of that work has been controversial, like Gov. Jeff Landry's sudden moves to shuffle homeless people out from prime downtown locations.
And it has done so despite inexplicable loss, becoming the site of a terror attack on New Year's Day that killed 14 people.
But the city, and the NFL, pressed on.
Now, New Orleans and the culture born of its struggles and its triumphs will be one of the biggest storylines that plays out on TV in front of millions of people on Sunday.
Queen Tahj is among the New Orleanians who will appear in a Crescent City-saturated pregame performance, the NFL says.
So, too, are Terence Blanchard, Trombone Shorty, Ledisi, Jon Batiste, Southern University's Human Jukebox marching band, the Original Pinettes Brass Band and the Spirit of New Orleans Gospel Choir.
What they're saying:" Mardi Gras Indians share a day in New Orleans called Super Sunday," Beasley said, referencing the St. Joseph's Day celebration when the city's tribes step out in their full, hand-beaded and -feathered suits, singing and dancing to show off their creations.
"In the NFL, they share a day called Super Sunday. ... And you know who's in the Super Bowl? The Chiefs. It all came together."
Is it destiny? Beasley likes to think so. A little of that magic has always existed here in this improbable place to build a city.
The bottom line: New Orleans, it's showtime.
And for everyone else, welcome back to our house.
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