Long known for climbing street poles to celebrate major victories, Philadelphia Eagles fans are having their wings clipped by New Orleans police ahead of Super Bowl LIX.
New Orleans police spokesperson Barry Fletcher has issued a warning about climbing street poles in the French Quarter, and while he neglected to mention Eagles supporters by name, he was directing his response to a Philadelphia newspaper.
‘Regarding climbing street light poles, that is not only illegal [trespᴀssing] but is unsafe as many of the street light poles in the French Quarter are quite old,’ Fletcher said in an email to the Philadelphia Inquirer. ‘Climbing on them risks toppling the light pole.’
So not only would climbers risk injury, but they could be forced to pay for damages and even face criminal charges as well.
The warning from Fletcher comes as an 18-year-old in Philadelphia remains on life support after falling from a street pole in the wake of the Eagles’ NFC Championship victory on Sunday.
One French Quarter H๏τel is famous for greasing a nearby pole on Bourbon Street, but it remains unclear if the rest of the city’s light poles will also be coated in Vaseline or other lubricants.
A person climbs a pole following the Philadelphia Eagles NFC Championship win on Sunday
People walk Bourbon Street after it is reopened to the public following the terrorist attack
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Phoenix and Glendale, Arizona issued similar warnings as the Chiefs and Eagles prepared to square off in the Super Bowl two years earlier. One Valley Metro transit system warned riders not to climb on the electrified station poles.
‘You will be a fried Eagle,’ read the warning message at the stations.
Obviously New Orleans has other fears heading into the February 9 Super Bowl, particularly after the terror attack in the French Quarter in the early hours of New Year’s Day. Shamsud-Din Jabbar killed 13 while driving a rented pickup into thick crowds of pedestrians. Police fatally sH๏τ the 42-year-old to end a subsequent standoff.
‘We know that we’re ready but guess what? We’re wanting to double down on those efforts just to make sure,’ Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at a press conference earlier this month.
An estimated 100,000 visitors are expected to pack into the city for the Super Bowl.
There are currently multiple investigations into the attack, which is said to have been inspired by a group connected to the Islamic State. One lawsuit claims the city and several of its contractors neglected to instigate proper security measures that could have prevented or mitigated the disaster.
Cantrell insists the city is making mechanical upgrades aimed at bringing more steel barriers to the area. There is some concern the current protective steel columns that are being installed on Bourbon Street may not be strong enough to prevent a similar attack.
