Super Indy

Of course it would have been much more fun if Peyton and the Colts had been in better health and playing in the Super Bowl.

But....

Unless you live here, you cannot imagine just HOW crazy Indianapolis is right now with all the festivities during this Super Bowl week.  An interesting little fact, never before has a Super Bowl been played in a city where everyone, all the teams, all the media and all the fans AND the game were held all within one city limits. 

My brother and I visited downtown Indy on Monday.  Thank goodness we went early in the week.  The crowds are picking up and unfortunately the idiotic unions are protesting Right To Work as we speak right in the middle of Super Bowl Village.  If they think they are going to garner sympathy with this ploy, they are sadly mistaken.

Thankfully we are being blessed with way above normal temps this week also, so there will be no nasty ice storms or 10 inches of snow to deal with either.

Forrest Lucas gambled $121MM for 20 year naming rights for Lucas Oil Stadium back in 2006.  A 30 second ad during the game cost $2.5MM.  Lucas calculated the cost IF Indianapolis was awarded the Super Bowl and knowing that the entire game would bear his name along with every regular season game held at home and gambled that Indy would get the Super Bowl and thereby get a big bang for his marketing dollar.  Homeland Security is saying this weekend, the stadium will have as much security as the White House.

A few years back, an Indianapolis businessman went bankrupt.  His $35MM estate was part of the bankruptcy.  It sat empty for years until Forrest Lucas bought himself another bargain for $3MM not to live in, but as a place to share with other corporate executives and special guests. 

Once Indianapolis was awarded the 2012 Super Bowl, JW Marriott built their largest hotel in the world just a few blocks away from Lucas Oil Stadium.

Indy has been preparing downtown for a couple years now and all the surrounding interstates. 

Now all the prep is done and we are in full blown Super Bowl week here.  The daytime crowds are getting larger and larger and the nighttime crowds are something I do not want to be in the middle of. 

They've blocked off several streets and made them into a walking village with concert stages, large TV screens, kids activities and a zip line.

Don't forget to watch our town on Sunday.  OH, and there's a football game on too.

Monument Circle

So warm the ice sculptures were melting

Not Rocky

The Zip Line

Union Station - Owners and Corporate Executives $700 daily hangout.  Not hotel rooms, but daytime activities BUT food and drinks are included.

Peyton's New Job

The crowds - HEY!  Who's that guy with the Colts sweatshirt?

(Other than the overhead shots, all rights reserved.)