Headed to the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship? You'll want to bundle up, but bring only the essentials.
With President Donald Trump planning to attend the game, U.S. Secret Service agents are manning security checkpoints and going about it quite assiduously.
Stadium security is of course always thorough but with the president on the way it's ratcheted up quite a bit. Gates opened to media at 11 a.m., and there was not a lot of activity at that hour. But security still took a while, as agents carefully examined every nook and cranny of my backpack, asked to see my laptop turned, unzipped and examined the contents of all the little bags inside with chargers and stuff, and so forth.
Colleagues arriving more recently are reporting it's taking 30-40 minutes to get through and it's unlikely things will go more quickly later on. Probably the opposite.
This is a recent (and unrelated) tweet the US Secret Service posted. It might give you an idea of how seriously these guys take their jobs:
Fans heading to the game aren't able to haul in as much gear as reporters, reporters and videographers, but still. Expect a very thorough encounter at security when you arrive. As you're packing your see-through bag, ask yourself if you really need this item or that. If you don't, leave it at home.
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