Indianapolis is hosting the 2012 Superbowl XLVI this year, and we were again fortunate to visit the Superbowl Village and NFL Experience at the convention center. Because we purchased tickets for the Experience, we spent most of our time there. We didn't stick around the Village very long, but just walked through briefly to see some of the things they had there.
Here are a couple pictures in front of Lucas Oil Stadium on our walk from our parking spot to downtown:
Here are a few pictures of the zipline at the Superbowl Village:
And some others from the Superbowl Village:
There was air blowing up from the grate in the sidewalk, and he thought it would be neat to see his long hair blowing. :)
Ice sculpture at the Village:
At the end of the Village, we came upon a concert by a country singer. We don't know who it was, but enjoyed a couple of songs before moving on to Monument Circle.
At Monument Circle, there are huge letters - XLVI:
On our way back to the Convention Center, we saw some strange sights:
As we are walking, this Scottish man comes up beside Alex (who is wearing a yellow plaid jacket), and touches his jacket and is looking at it. There is a camera facing him with this microphone above. The Scot is talking with Alex about the fabric and if it would work for a kilt. Alex doesn't say much, but we're curious as to the film/show or documentary, or whatever this was being taped for.At most of the intersections downtown, they have put up new street signs with NFL team names:
We now enter the NFL experience.
Right inside the door is a countdown clock. Only 3 more days!
All around the facility were plaster casts of each teams uniform that you could get your picture behind. Alex is a Patriots fan (as well as a Colts fan, which, in my opinion, is NOT possible, but whatever.)
After the Colts, the rest of us would be Giants fans (among a couple other teams, but for this year's Superbowl, the Giants.)
As we entered "The Field" area of the NFL Experience, we spent the next several hours standing in line to do the interactive experiences they offered. Our first was the Punt, Pass and Kick, where we all (including me) attempted our best of each. Next, the boys went through Training Camp (including their dad). Here are a couple videos. The first is Nicolas and the second is Ryan and Alex competing. At the top, you can see their times.Then, we all tried out our kicking skills at The Extra Point. I attempted a 10 yard field goal, the boys each attempted a 20 yard and Ryan attempted a 30 yard. Here are videos of the boys' attempts. Alex came pretty close.
The boys and Ryan continued to a Quarterback Throw activity while I went to another section where they were giving autographs. I knew the lines would be crazy, but was hoping to get close enough to get a picture, which I did:
Joe Montana
Alex really wanted an autograph of Reggie Wayne, so I asked at the main autograph desk (where Joe Montana was and earlier that day Cam Newton, whom we missed), and they said he was at the GMC booth the day before. So I headed over there to see who was giving autographs there:
Arian Foster
And on my way over to that area, I came upon the Channel 13 live new report with Scott Swan and Anne Marie Tiernan:
After meeting back up with the boys, Alex wanted to head over and see the celebrities while Ryan and Nicolas continued in the Field area of the Experience. We went into the GMC tent and in order to get a free ticket for a guaranteed autograph of a former NFL player, I had to go through a survey and a short quiz about the vehicles that were on display. (I'm sure we'll get junk mail from this survey, but I put in an old e-mail address.) After getting 2 tickets for an autograph session, we met back up with the others.While waiting for our autograph session to begin, we visited an area where they were showing how they make the official NFL footballs. (They were also selling them, and Alex bought one, that will remain in the packaging. You can see a picture of that at the end of the post where I will show our souvenirs.)
Pieces of leather before sewing
She was sewing the pieces together with a machine right there in the building.
Turning it right side out, after being placed in a steam oven and heating the leather up.
After inserting the bladder, she inflates it some, but not all the way.
Then she laces it up (Every picture I took, her hands were blurry - even with a flash - so that shows you how fast she was working.)We visited a section called the Locker Room where the boys chose their favorites to pictures beside:
And a couple other notables:
After this, it was time to head back to the autograph area at GMC. We got there 1/2 hour early and there was already a long line. Ryan and I were not allowed to go back with the boys, only ticketed people could go back, however, they come back around where we could see them. So they were only behind the wall about 15-20 minutes by themselves. So we waited so we could get some good pictures:
Cris Carter
And in the other autograph area, Desmond Howard was signing, but again, these lines were crazy, so we only got a picture.
When we left this area, we had to stop by and see the Super Bowl rings. There was a guarded glass display of every ring so far along with several boards of enlarged pictures and details about each ring.
And in this same section, we saw the divisional trophies, the Walter Payton award and the Vince Lombardi trophy. There was a long line to get to stand beside the Vince Lombardi trophy and have a friend take your picture beside it, so we just took a picture from a distance.
By this time, it's 8pm, we've been on our feet all day. We ate lunch before we left, snacked in the car on the drive down and had a small snack outside the convention center before entering at 3:30. We were not allowed to take food or drink inside the NFL Experience and the prices were outrageous. So, we're hungry and our feet and legs hurt. BUT, we still had to go back towards the circle to a gift shop down there for Nicolas to spend his money. Since we're down there anyway, we went back to the circle so that the grandparents in Florida could see us stand in front of the big letters through a live webcam they found of Indy's circle.It was light when we went into the convention center, when we came out, it was dark. I guess the party really starts after dark, because there were people everywhere and loud music. On our walk back, we ended up by the concert stand at the end of the Superbowl Village and foot traffic came to a stand still. It was in front of a bar and a scantily dress girl was throwing beaded necklaces out of her second story window from a lounge. Not sure if that's why there was no movement, or if it was because of the concert - but most likely both. We finally got through and headed back to the van - almost 1 mile away.
And as is tradition when we head to Indy, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A in Noblesville for supper. It was after 9pm, so everything tasted wonderful and hit the spot. Very enjoyable trip and so glad we decided to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. Crawling into bed after 11pm, we all slept well.
So, here is a list of souvenirs we got while down there.
Nicolas bought a shot glass and a flag. Total $15
Alex bought the football (from where they were making them). $15
And we bought a frame to put our family picture in from in front of the XLVI letters downtown. $15
At the GMC display, along with our tickets for the autograph, they gave us 2 beaded Superbowl necklaces. So the rest of these souvenirs are free ones.
By the rings display, there were people handing out free pages of football stickers.
And if you took them to a particular display, they would give you a free NFL sticker album. The boys also received a packet of cards from there.
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