TV’s Hercules bids you welcome and asks that you keep your applause to a thundering roar.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
This year marked the sixth time my wife and I attended the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. It’s an annual date-day tradition for us —- partly to see the floats and high school marching bands, partly for the famous names and partly because I love the sight of a bustling downtown Indianapolis. The next six entries (to be posted over the next few days as quickly as time and attention span permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, absolutely not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because fun and joy.
In this entry: the actors, musicians, local politicians, and other notable personalities invited to join this year’s procession. We’re finding that we recognize fewer faces with each passing year, but maybe they’ll mean a lot more to you than to us. So enjoy for us!
Please enjoy this bonus pic of Kevin Sorbo because we know who he is.
David Anspaugh, the director of locally beloved sports films Hoosiers and Rudy.
Brad Long, who costarred with his son Gary in Hoosiers. (“You da man! And YOU da man!”)
Gary Long, who costarred with his son Brad in Hoosiers. (“Nah, dad, YOU da man!”)
The actual team bus from Hoosiers.
Josh Kaufman, winner of NBC’s The Voice season 6, and Grand Marshal of the 2014 500 Festival Parade.
The YouTube-popular band Walk Off the Earth, whose cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” has been viewed over 172 million times.
Florence Henderson! Carol Brady is a longtime fixture in the annual Indy 500 festivities and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Christian singer John Tibbs.
The Grand Marshal of the 2016 Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade: Emma Stumpf, age 14, who’s endured 76+ weeks of chemotherapy and/or radiation for her inoperable brain tumor, and has founded a charity to buy art supplies for other long-term hospitalized kids.
Nick Gehlfuss, star of NBC’s Chicago Med.
Comedian Drew Lynch, a contestant on America’s Got Talent. (DOGGIEEEE!)
IndyCar legend Mario Andretti. (“HAIL HY–” [flying tackle from Anne before I can finish the caption])
Andretti’s fellow multiple-500 winners Johnny Rutherford and Rick Mears.
For once the main passenger is driving instead of riding. That’s longtime Indycar owner Roger Penske, driver of this year’s pace car.
Sports announcer Bob Jenkins, who’s been a part of the essential Indy 500 radio broadcast off-and-on since I was a teenager still listening to them.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, newly elected in 2015.
Infamous Indiana Governor Mike Pence evaded every camera we pointed at him, so here’s his First Lady Karen Pence having a ball.
2012 Olympic diving gold medalist David Boudia, who now lives in West Lafayette.
Myles Turner from the Indiana Pacers.
Colts lineman Joe Reitz, aiming to take the Best Parade Kids award from Scott Dixon.
Blue, our very own Colts mascot, who hopes you don’t know what he did last summer.
To be continued! Links to other chapters in this annual MCC miniseries are listed below. Follow us on Facebook or via email signup for new-entry alerts, or over on Twitter if you want to track my TV live-tweeting and other signs of life between entries. Thanks for stopping by!
Part 1: The 33 Drivers in Your Starting Lineup
Part 3: Marching Bands!
Part 4: Floats and Balloons
Part 5: Random Acts of Parading
Part 6: Before the Music
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