CNNSI.com | CNNSI.com: Super Bowl XXXVI | CNN/Money: Super Bowl/Super Business

It's Super Bowl time! Let the game begin

The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans is the scene of Super Bowl XXXVI.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- They slurped oysters, engorged on etouffee, quaffed cocktails and café au lait, maybe even worked in a few hours of slumber.

Unprecedented security, it seems, didn't stop fans in the Super Bowl city from living up to New Orleans' high standards of celebration. Now it's time for business.

Fans were expected to run an unprecedented security gantlet as they flocked to the Louisiana Superdome. The kickoff of Super Bowl XXXVI is 6:30 p.m. EST Sunday.

In addition to negotiating checkpoints far from the Louisiana Superdome, everyone entering the dome was advised to prepare for a series of security hurdles, including metal detectors and possible pat downs. They also had to do without containers, camera cases and noisemakers.

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In return, they would get a beefed-up pregame show including Paul McCartney, Wynonna, the Boston Pops, Mary J. Blige, Marc Anthony, Patti LaBelle and Mariah Carey, who is scheduled to sing the national anthem.

On the home front, millions more NFL enthusiasts geared up to watch the game on TV at sports pubs and parties across the United States and the globe.

Along with the game, TV viewers could look forward to a fresh slate of big-budget advertisements, including a generation-spanning Pepsi ad in which a twitching Britney Spears gives a new twist to old Pepsi jingles.

In another ad paid for by Monster.com, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani thanks America for its help after September 11.

Alcohol-awareness groups urged people to be extra cautious on what they say is among the deadliest days on America's roads.

Super Bowl Sunday is matched only by New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day when it comes to deaths caused by drunken driving, according the National Commission Against Drunk Driving.

Sixty-two people died in alcohol-related traffic deaths on the day of last year's game.