Welcome To Indianapolis

What bars in heaven must look like.

Before we hit the Chicago bars last night, our group agreed to leave for Indianapolis this morning no later than 8:00am. Many beers, some shots, one 3:00am burrito, two aspirin, and a large coffee later, we were on the road at 10:15.

What NOT to do the night before an early road trip.

Along the way, we stopped at a gas station an hour outside of Indy to stock up on some essentials:

The attendant at the register told me that she'd seen Giants and Patriots fans all week, sometimes in busloads. She also mentioned that many Indiana residents are heading to the city even if they don't have tickets, just to soak up the atmosphere.

The obligatory Dairy Queen stop.

During the car ride, we learned that the Battle of Tippecanoe occurred in Indiana, John Quincy Adams kept a pet alligator in the White House, and Andrew Jackson's dying regret was that he hadn't killed more people in duels. We also created a new game show: "Obscure Nineteenth Century President or Patriots Practice Squad Player?"  Let's play. Which of these men is a former US president?

a) Dorin Dickerson

b)Garrett Mills

c) Millard Fillmore

The answer, of course, is Millard Fillmore. I also now have my costume idea for next Halloween.

Despite a touchdown in his second preseason game, Fillmore still didn't survive Bill Belichick's final roster cut.

As soon as we reached downtown Indy, our resident Patriots fan, Pat, started heckling Giants fans in the street, at which point Colin instituted a "no drive by booing" rule.

So we have arrived. I'll be taking lots of photos and posting more thoughts and observations during the weekend, so keep checking the blog. Super Bowwwwwwwllllll!!!!!!!!!!

The lobby of our hotel, the Hilton in downtown Indianapolis.