Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Had Powerful Message for His Team After New Orleans Attack

When Notre Dame takes on Georgia in the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on Thursday, the game will be played under the pall of the devastating events that occurred in New Orleans just a day prior.

The Sugar Bowl was postponed after a deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street during the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations early Wednesday morning. ESPN’s Laura Rutledge reported that Georgia was sheltering in place at a team hotel the morning of the tragic event before the bowl organizers ultimately decided to push the game back to Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.

Under unthinkable circumstances, Notre Dame and Georgia players will take the field with their postseasons on the line, as trivial as that may sound in the wake of the shocking tragedy in New Orleans.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, fully aware of the tense and scary situation surrounding the Sugar Bowl, shared his powerful message to his team ahead of the big game.

“What I told the team is in the toughest moments, the culture of any program, of a nation, is revealed,” Freeman told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. “I have a lot of faith this country will rally around the city of New Orleans and support all the victims and families that were affected today.”

Freeman added that he held a team meeting Wednesday in which he prayed for the country as well as those affected by the tragedy.

Freeman, who locked up a long-term extension with Notre Dame in December, has helped lead the Fighting Irish to their first CFP appearance since 2020. The 38-year-old coach has gone 31-9 (with a 3-1 bowl record) since taking over the program in December 2021 and is looking to win Notre Dame’s first national title in over three decades.