New Orleans – Every Super Bowl week comes with its own distinct feeling, one that often reflects the mood in America or in the National Football League itself.

This year that feeling is tension.

Start with the Super Bowl city itself, New Orleans, where a little more than a month ago, 14 people were killed and dozens more injured when a terrorist drove a pickup truck down several blocks of Bourbon Street in the early morning hours of New Year's Day.

The vigil for the victims of that tragedy, consisting of pictures, flowers, candles and items placed at the scene, is situated at the heart of all the activity here this week, near a street corner flanked by police or military personnel.

Most every corner in the busy parts of town has the same presence. The show of force here is beyond that of any previous Super Bowl, including the one 23 years ago which took place just five months after September 11, 2001.

The reason is surely a combination of the recent attack in New Orleans and the political climate in the United States, which feels more divided than ever, with the new president having set off waves of international tension during his........

© TSN