While the cultural purists of this city may spend this weekenddining at Galatoire’s and attending a debutante ball at TheRoosevelt Hotel, the real New Orleanians will be dining on nachosand beer and watching the show-stopping pageantry of oversizedpickup trucks crashing haplessly into each other at theMercedes-Benz Superdome.

Advanced Auto Parts Monster Jam returns to New Orleans at 7 p.m.Saturday and will feature 14 trucks with ominous names such as”Grave Digger” and “Maximum Destruction” competing in both racingand freestyle events.

Yes, the stereotypes of monster truck rallies are well known. Itconjures up thoughts of camouflage, thick Southern drawls andConfederate flags. However, if you can lose the smug sense ofYankee superiority that somehow considers hitting golf balls arounda course for 10 hours to be the apex of culture and society, youshould find the visceral thrill of a 2,000 horsepower truckcrushing a Honda Civic to be a well-spent Saturday night.

Whether you attend for the high-octane thrills or as an exercisein morbid curiosity and cultural anthropology, Monster Jam is agreat opportunity to witness a cultural phenomenon that boasts afollowing of more than four million fans nationwide.