Indianapolis Super Bowl XLVI Memories, Part 3: The Village and the City

JW Marriott, Super Bowl 46!

The J.W. Marriott was a recent addition to the downtown skyline and clearly marked where the party started,

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Once upon a time, and exactly once, Indianapolis hosted a Super Bowl. Back in 2012 our li’l city earned its first chance to host the big game. Thanks to tremendous teamwork among numerous organization and bodies cooperating under Mayor Greg Ballard, the Circle City welcomed untold thousands of visitors for a super-sized weekend of football mania, Hoosier tourism, and limited-time-only activities that welcomed all brought our downtown alive. It was a unique occasion that everyone in town could appreciate, including those of us who aren’t into sports, have never watched an entire football game — nary a Super Bowl, not even for the ads — and have never been invited to a Super Bowl party. We found ways to get into the spirit of the proceedings anyway.

All of this happened three months before Midlife Crisis Crossover launched. At the time I simply shared pics and stories with online friends, then reused a tiny selection of that material here on MCC one year later. I can’t remember why I was so stingy and only reposted eleven photos from among the dozens of relevant ones, including an entire quest involving citywide art. This past week our local media outlets have been holding their tenth-anniversary celebrations of that time we all did a Super Bowl together. That means it’s the perfect time for a remastered version of the tale of how we spent January 27-28, 2012, the weekend before Super Bowl 46…this time in trilogy form!

It all comes down to this: the other stuff we saw in and around downtown Indy in those momentous days when hometown pride was at an all-time high and football fervor dwarfed the local loves of auto racing and our precious basketball for just a bit.

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Super Bowl XLVI Indianapolis Memories, Part 1 of 3: The NFL Experience

Indianapolis giant football!

Giant inflatable football poised over a small-scale simulated football field. Neither was in use but could’ve made a fun combination.

Once upon a time, and exactly once, Indianapolis hosted a Super Bowl. Back in 2012 our li’l city earned its first chance to host the big game. Thanks to tremendous teamwork among numerous organization and bodies cooperating under Mayor Greg Ballard, the Circle City welcomed untold thousands of visitors for a super-sized weekend of football mania, Hoosier tourism, and limited-time-only activities that welcomed all brought our downtown alive. It was a unique occasion that everyone in town could appreciate, including those of us who aren’t into sports, have never watched an entire football game — nary a Super Bowl, not even for the ads — and have never been invited to a Super Bowl party. We found ways to get into the spirit of the proceedings anyway.

All of this happened three months before Midlife Crisis Crossover launched. At the time I simply shared pics and stories with online friends, then reused a tiny selection of that material here on MCC one year later. I can’t remember why I was so stingy and only reposted eleven photos from among the dozens of relevant ones, including an entire quest involving citywide art. This past week our local media outlets have been holding their tenth-anniversary celebrations of that time we all did a Super Bowl together. That means it’s the perfect time for a remastered version of the tale of how we spent January 27-28, 2012, the weekend before Super Bowl 46…this time in trilogy form!

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Inside the Colts Training Facility

Vince Lombardi Trophy!

The Colts’ most prized possession is the Vince Lombardi Trophy they earned for winning Super Bowl XLI. They trusted us not to try running off with it.

As a reward for an above-average year, today my company sent numerous employees on a field trip to the Indianapolis Colts Training Facility on the northwest side of Indianapolis, where they spend hours upon hours working out, honing, drilling, planning, and doing everything within their power to man up so that when things go wrong during each game, it’ll hopefully be someone else’s fault.

I saw new things up close, had a few snacks, took a few photos, watched others enjoy some of the more physical activities, and maybe learned a thing about football.

Right this way for football, cheerleaders, one genuine Colt, and snacks!

Super Bowl XLVI Pre-Party Photo Archive: When the Big Game Came to Indianapolis

Super Bowl XLVI, Indianapolis, Doritos

“You got your snacks in my football!” “You got your football in my snacks!”

This week all of Planet Earth is clearing its weekend calendar, stocking up on snacks, upgrading their TVs, and preparing for the greatest spectacle in American football. Super Bowl XLVII hits the airwaves this Sunday, February 3rd, as the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens will face each other at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome down in New Orleans. Here in Indianapolis, Colts fans are disappointed that rookie quarterback Andrew Luck didn’t carry the entire team to the grand finale on his back, but they’ve consoled themselves with the knowledge that those infernal New England Patriots didn’t make it either.

As mentioned in previous entries, I’m not a sports fan, so the Super Bowl usually holds no meaning for me. I’m not even one of those casual viewers who attends a bona fide Super Bowl party to gorge on refreshments and watch the world’s most expensive new TV commercials. My family has its own Super Bowl Sunday traditions, none of which involve feigning sports interest for a day or being invited to parties by other people. It’s just not our thing.

For the space of a few hours, last year’s Super Bowl XLVI was a slightly different story.

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