Super Bowl Memories

Part of my uniform while serving as a volunteer
at Super Bowl XLVI. (dwm photo)

One of many things I enjoyed while living in Indianapolis was serving the the Indiana Sports Corporation which was the group which coordinated the various major sporting events in the capital city.

The highlight had to be when the Super Bowl came to town in 2012.  The request for volunteers went out a year in advance and I was one of the lucky 8,000 able to help.

Volunteers were part of every section of the event - starting way in advance as scores of knitters across the Hoosier state made winter scarves to give the participating teams and officials.  

So many were made, there were enough for volunteers. My scarf (photo above right) is a little long, but it's still comfortable ten years later.    

In addition to the scarf and jacket,
I was given the winter hat, the blue
'wind shirt', plus collectible pins.
Ready to go, Jan 29, 2012.

 The Indiana Sports Corp. had volunteer management down to a science, starting with straight-forward training and job descriptions so volunteers like me knew what our job was, and what it wasn't.  Since there always seemed to be enough people willing to serve, the jobs were specific.  

 At the Super Bowl, one of my jobs was standing in the middle of a city block on West Washington Street to make sure none of our out-of-town guests got hurt while jay-walking.  During a Final Four, one job was protecting an Indy Race Car on display so no one got in or on the vehicle.

 In addition to a men's and women's Final Four and the Super Bowl; I helped when the Olympic Swimming and Diving Trails was held in the Natatorium downtown; and served as a way-finder at a convention for the NCAA. 

The Super Bowl experience topped them all.  My favorite memory was when I was monitoring my section of West Washington Street when two guests came up to talk.  They made a comment about the scarf, saying how cool it was and asked about buying it, I said no.

In addition to street patrol, I served in the Convention Center during the Fan Experience in the days leading up to the games and acted as a way-finder and city 'ambassador' in the J.W. Marriott hotel.  Serving as an ambassador meant answering questions - like where to find a certain type of food or the best time to attend an event.

During the men's Final Four, I was covering the hospitality desk set up in the lobby of the hotel hosting Duke's men's team.  A father came up with his son asking if there was anyplace nearby where his 10 year old son might enjoy eating.  Given all the upscale restaurants in the area, I understood the question perfectly and pointed him to the nearby Steak-n-Shake.

After the big game, there were a lot of positive remarks by visitors, teams, and league officials.  It was a joy and an honor to be a very small part of a huge team (called the host committee) who welcomed them to Indianapolis.