Sportshour comes from New Orleans on the eve of Super Bowl LIX with Katie Smith in the city to bring you the atmosphere and the stories ahead of Philadelphia Eagles against Kansas City Chiefs. Katie Smith meets Jackie Wallace who had it all, but the three-time Super Bowl star had a demon he couldn't deal with. After retirement, he slipped into addiction and lost everything. Ted Jackson was a photojournalist assigned to head to skid row and "find a story". Whilst taking pictures, Jackie came up to him and asked what he was doing. "I've been asked to find a story down here,” Ted said. "Well," Jackie responded, "Have I got a story for you!" Amazed by who he was speaking with and saddened by the state he found Jackie in; he resolved to help him. That started a long friendship which has seen its difficulties, but Jackie now lives a clean life off the streets and the bond between the two is no small part of the reason. New Orleans is the home of Jazz, and the father of Jazz is Fats Waller. Well, his great grandson, Darren Waller was a big name in the NFL. He retired last year to turn his mind to music. We catch up with him to talk about football, fame and his family's musical heritage. Plus, New Orleans is known as the party capital of the South, synonymous with warm welcomes, Mardi Gras, and all that Jazz. But in August 2005 that all changed, now when people think of New Orleans, they think of Hurricane Katrina. The Super Dome, where the Super Bowl will be played, was the city’s “shelter of last resort” in 2005. So, if you did not have the means of escaping, or had nowhere to go, you could find sanctuary at the Super Dome. What happened next at the Super Dome would define the misery, suffering and devastation the hurricane would cause. What happened there just over two years later symbolised the city’s resolution, recovery, and rebirth, and at the very heart of it would be Doug and Denise Thornton. Doug was, and still is, the manager of the Super Dome, through their eyes we will learn what it was like to be in the Super Dome when Katrina hit and how it was rebuilt. (Photo: The Super Bowl LIX logo, the Kansas City Chiefs logo and the Philadelphia Eagles logo projected onto St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, 5 February, 2025, New Orleans, Louisiana. Credit: Getty Images)
