Well, where do I begin? Oh my goodness this was so much fun!! First I'd like to start by saying, "Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU" to Deb Wuertly for suggesting Sue and I to her Dad as possible buyers for their extra two tickets! This was an incredible experience! For those reading who don't know what I'm talking about, Thursday night was the Indianapolis Colts season opener against the New Orleans Saints. They had a free NFL Kickoff concert at Monument Circle in Downtown Indy from 5:00-7:45 featuring Hinder (should be named Hideous), Kelly Clarkson (A fav of mine) and Faith Hill (probably my all time favorite female country singer). So, Sue and I flew out of school and hit the road to Indy about 3:45. We were parked in the Conseco Parking Garage by 5:15. Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We made our way over towards Monument Circle where there were 50,000-100,000 people milling the blocked off streets and crowded like sardines a few city blocks deep to see the concert. The first picture is the screen I could see of Kelly Clarkson and the next picture is Faith Hill. As crazy as it sounds, it was really a fun atmosphere. We enjoyed listening and watching via screen two of our favorite artists.
Around 7:30, we started heading toward the RCA Dome. The ceremony presenting the 2006 superbowl banner and a performance by John Mellancamp was to begin at 8:00. This next picture is the scene in front of me going into the Dome.
Once I was in the gates, I took pictures looking down at the crowds of people waiting to get in and the people streaming from all over the city towards the Dome. The seas of blue and white was so cool to see.
Our view of the stadium. The Porters seats are excellent. Back row of the bottom section. You have a wall at your back so the drunk who goes for his 35th beer won't spill it down your back when he returns to his seat. You also have the replay TV's right above you so you can watch the replay up close. Below they are setting up the stage for the pregame ceremony. The replica Superbowl ring was for the players to run through as they took the field. It was amazing. ( I feel like I'm running out of adjectives!)
Here you have the Colts cheerleaders and below is John Mellancamp on the big screen. I couldn't get the pictures while he was performing to come out. It was too dark. He introduced Jim Irsay to the stage at the beginning of the ceremony.
Here come the Colts!
half was a little slow, but Peyton and crew really put on a clinic in the second half. The drunk guy in front of us, who was really a very nice guy, was into high fives for every good play, so we felt like a real part of the group! There is nothing like being there when that long pass into the endzone hits it's receiver perfectly for a touchdown. The crowd goes wild and it's so exhillerating! (sp?) (Trying to find a new word.) Well, I guess that's it. The game was awesome and we won big! Sue and I looked at each other on our way to the car and agreed that it was worth every penny! Go Colts!