New Orleans

— In a city where even funerals turn into parties, New Orleans rarely lacks for an excuse to strike up the band, boil up some crayfish and swirl together a daiquiri. But with the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras landing this month, New Orleans never has had such a party-intensive couple of weeks, as fans of the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, athletes, corporate executives and Hollywood celebrities arrive to heed the city motto: Let the good times roll. Ravens fan Sheri Fuller arrived Wednesday, and after checking into her hotel, headed straight to Harrah's Casino, ready to start a fun-filled march to Sunday's game.

Just when we all were getting over the irony of a team named the “Saints” getting stung in that tawdry NFL bounty scandal, the transplanted New Orleans Hornets of the NBA have announced they will change their nickname to the “Pelicans.” The reason is high-minded, of course. The brown Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana, and it became emblematic of the area's comeback from both Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. Proponents feel it will remind a new generation about the importance of the environment and the resilience of the gulf coast region.

NEW ORLEANS - Twelve years ago, Steve Bisciotti arrived for Super Bowl XXXV as a minority owner of the Ravens, content to remain in the background and have fun with his friends. Bisciotti, his wife, Renee, and his assistant, Pam Lund, arranged for 250 family members to travel to Tampa, Fla., for the game. He rented a corporate tent and hired a band for pregame entertainment, and then he watched the game from a suite at Raymond James Stadium. After the Ravens beat the New York Giants, 34-7, to capture the franchise's lone title, Bisciotti was on the field to watch the trophy presentation and then he took his sons inside the victorious locker room.

It is doubtful in all of the hullabaloo and hype leading up to Super Bowl XLVII that the name of one non-football-playing Baltimorean will be mentioned: John McDonogh, the philanthropist, who left an indelible mark not only on his native city but also in New Orleans for his endowment of public schools for poor children. A reader, Bill Rowe, who graduated from McDonogh School in 1970, recently brought to my attention McDonogh's philanthropic endeavors, which probably outside of the McDonogh community have largely been forgotten.

“Hey, remember that time we took an RV to watch the Ravens win the Super Bowl … and didn't go IN to the Super Bowl?” As a young girl from Baltimore, I've always dreamt of saying those words, some might say destined to utter them. Orrrrr maybe that wish really began two weeks ago, with four minutes left in the AFC Championship Game. Either way, by the time the game ended, and before I found myself screaming victory for 10 straight minutes, my buddy Steve had already booked a seven-passenger RV from the fleet at Cruise America in Towson, and, in the coming days, reserved us two different spaces at trailer parks around the French Quarter.

Are you ready for some gumbo? At 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 3, when the Ravens take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, much of Baltimore will be watching, either from their stadium seats in New Orleans or here at home. Ravens fans not lucky enough to have tickets to the big game still have plenty of reason to celebrate at home in Baltimore, and they can do so in N'awlins style. According to local chefs with Louisiana roots, the Big Easy's cuisine is tailor-made for parties.

NEW ORLEANS - Ravens coach John Harbaugh rattled off plenty of positives about his running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery on Wednesday morning. Then Harbaugh stopped himself to add one more. "… At one time, he was the fastest human being in the world, did you know that? He was, a long time ago. " Montgomery acknowledges he was a pretty fast guy growing up in Greenville, Miss., in the early 1970s. During his high school days, Montgomery and his brother, Cleotha, clocked 9.3 seconds in the 100-yard dash on cinder rocks instead of the smooth, cushioned track surfaces of today.

If first impressions are as critical as everyone says they are, the Ravens have made Baltimore proud and impressed the national media in their brief time in New Orleans. Today is Super Bowl XLVII Media Day, when literally thousands of reporters from print, TV, radio and the web  descend on both the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, grilling them with questions that range from the sublime to the inane. That's is when the craziness really starts. If there's no excess like media excess, there's definitely no media excess like Super Bowl media excess.

Minutes before Monday's flight to New Orleans, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was seen with his favorite treat: Haribo Gold-Bears. The original gummi bears are Flacco's go-to choice while prepping for the big game. Known for his sweet tooth, Flacco's favorite flavor is Pineapple. This has been a 4-minute Ravens-related post. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood  

Don't feel like cooking for a crowd on Sunday? Get your New Orleans flair from local restaurants and caterers instead. Restaurants: B&O American Brasserie (443-692-6172; http://www.bandorestaurant.com) will serve a five course New Orleans-themed game day dinner, including grilled oysters, a seafood boil and king cake for $50 per person, and 50 cent Natty Bohs and $5 "Hail Marys. " At Tooloulou (443-627-8090; http://www.tooloulou.com) and Ethel & Ramone's (410-664-2971; http://www.ethelandramones.com)