NEW ORLEANS — Being young, drunk or stupid is a reliable indicator of why anyone would waste a Saturday night roaming the French Quarter when the rest of the city’s musical, culinary and cultural treasures beckon.
So, there I was back in the spring of 1982, with a trifecta of sorts, standing in line on the St. Peter Street sidewalk, waiting to get into Pat O’Brien’s.
Behind my buddy and me were a couple of Houston Cougars fans. Their team had lost in a Final Four game to Georgetown that afternoon, and they were determined to hit Bourbon Street, drink away their disappointment and then drive home in the morning.
And, by the way, did we want their tickets?
I want to say we paid $10 for the pair — or maybe it was $10 apiece — which was enough for a couple of Hurricanes or gas money for their trip home. The price was only half the bargain. Two nights later, in our seats about 20 rows behind a basket — which were in all likelihood about 50 yards away from the court in the Superdome — we watched a sinewy freshman guard named Michael Jordan hit a championship-winning shot for North Carolina against Georgetown.