As NFL fans from all over the country descend on New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX between Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, it appears the locals are taking every precaution imaginable.
According to one Philadelphia-based TV reporter, that includes a tactic that has been infamously used by Philadelphia officials since before the Eagles’ 2018 Super Bowl victory — caking local street poles with Vaseline or Crisco shortening grease to inhibit drunk fans from scaling them while out celebrating.
“Breaking news: this not Broad Street, this is Bourbon Street, but take a look at this guys, you’re going to want to see this back in Philly, they have greased the poles on Bourbon Street,” FOX-29 reporter Jeff Cole said during a live hit from New Orleans on Sunday morning. “Look at that. They’re taking a clue from Philadelphia, they have officially greased the poles here, these are antique street light poles. The police say for the very first time, they have greased the poles on Bourbon Street. So, maybe they’re expecting something, maybe they know something we don’t, but it looks like a little bit of Broad Street has been brought to Bourbon Street. Go Birds.”
NOLA.com reports many of the various light and street poles around the French Quarter are being greased with Vaseline by local business owners in an effort to avoid out-of-town fans (Eagles fans) from potentially hurting themselves during the post-Super Bowl celebration, regardless who wins.
And while it’s become somewhat of a tradition for Philadelphia police to cake Cristco onto local Broad Street light poles before any big sporting events, the New Orleans police haven’t followed suit.
“The city of New Orleans does not grease street light poles,” Barry Fletcher, spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department, told The Times-Picayune. “However, it is very common for building owners to grease balcony support poles.”
Kickoff of Super Bowl LIX is set for 6:30 p.m. and the city of New Orleans is expecting the party to extend into the later hours of Sunday night/Monday morning.
