Super Bowl & Mardi Gras!
New Orleans, LA -Mardi Gras in New Orleans - could there be anything any better? Well, how about having the Super Bowl right in the middle of Mardi Gras?! That's what's happening this year! Super Bowl XXXVI will be held at the Louisiana SuperDome on Sunday February 3, 2002.
Mardi Gras kicks off with the Phunny Phorty Phellows parade on January 6th, picks up steam with the Krewe du Vieux parade on January 19, and goes into high gear on January 25th with a whole host of parades... and then, the Super Bowl! Only New Orleans could host two of the biggest parties in the world simultaneously...
Most of the major attractions, restaurants and beach clubs are now open, and are swinging into high gear in an effort to entice visitors to the World's Most Beautiful Beaches.
Super Bowl XXXVI is the NINTH time New Orleans has hosted the Super Bowl. And there're reasons for this... New Orleans is accessible to fans from all over the country, has the hotel rooms and restaurants to handle them, and is known for a good time!
If you've never been to a Super Bowl, you may not realize that there are a whole week's worth of events leading up to gameday. Coca Cola and America Online present the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park offering interactive games, displays and entertainment attractions.
The NFL Experience lets you into the game with games designed to test your skills, with clinics ran by some of the biggest names in the game, and with opportunities to meet the players and coaches. The NFL Experience runs from Thursday, January 31st till the Sunday of the game, at Morial Convention Center's Hall J - Adjacent Lot.
On Saturday, the 2nd, Taste of the NFL will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Taste of the NFL is a food and wine tasting event with an interesting twist - a top chef from each of the NFL's 32 cities is paired with an alumni or current player from each team.
Taste of the NFL raises money and awareness for programs that seek to end childhood hunger in the U.S. and has become a staple of the pre-Super Bowl circuit.
The Toys for Tots Golf Skills Competition, NFL Super Bowl XXXVI Youth Clinic, Super Bowl XXXVI Cheerleading Spirit Clinic, and the 18th Annual NFL Charities Super Bowl Golf Classic are a few of the other events surrounding the game.
If you get into town early for the game, say by January 26th, you can catch Mardi Gras parades throughout the city. On the 26th Uptown starts it's parades with the Krewe of Aladdin, while the Krewe of Barkus will parade through the French Quarter starting at 2pm on the Sunday the 27th.
If you stay in town after the game, there are parades starting on the Tuesday, February 5th and running till Mardi Gras Day on February 12th. These parades are the central rite of Mardi Gras, and have been taking place for well over 100 years.
Mardi Gras is famous for the Krewes of locals who throw the parades, balls and other events that make up "Carnival," or Mardi Gras. These are the crazy people who make and ride the floats in the parades, and whose attention you'll have to get if you're wanting any of the beads or doubloons they throw to the crowds.
Speaking of which, if you're planning to go for the beads and doubloons, be careful... you can get smashed fingers in the crush of the crowd. We've got a few basics and tips for you first-timers here.
Mardi Gras is the world's most famous street party for many reasons, not least, that the French Quarter is the perfect place to localize an otherwise wild time. After the parades, many of which are held on Canal Street, which borders the French Quarter, most people head down Bourbon Street.
You'd be wise to follow... Bourbon Street is where it all starts, no matter what else is going on. This is where you'll find the unbelievable crowds, the Huge Ass Beers, and, of course, the flashing of flesh! The balcony's lining the street are draped with partiers of all stripes and persuasions, and the clubs are packed full.
To find out more about Mardi Gras, be sure and check our special Mardi Gras section, our Mardi Gras Photo Galleries, and our Mardi Gras Video Library.
The Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, together at last.
This is the party they'll be talking about as long as there's Mardi
Gras and the Super Bowl... don't miss it! 
