Indianapolis’ shining moment in the Super Bowl spotlight came about four hours before kickoff, when NBC televised a
short feature on the 2012 host city.
Pre-game show host Bob Costas marveled at our unseasonably warm February weather before introducing the piece that focused
on what Indianapolis was doing to make the Super Bowl's impact last.
NBC mentioned the 1st and Green environmental initiative, near-east-side neighborhood revitalization project and the Simon
Cancer Center’s Super Cure breast-tissue drive, among other efforts.
Like every host city, Indianapolis has tried to distinguish itself from past Super Bowl locales. Super Bowl Village and the
Capitol Avenue zip line, for example, were intended to keep visitors busy downtown. Both those will disappear along with the
massive Vince Lombardi Trophy adorning the JW Marriott exterior.
Some other efforts will last longer.
The Indianapolis Host Committee vowed to make this the “greenest” Super Bowl ever, planting more than 2,000 trees
and creating the 1st and Green web portal where residents can report carbon- and water-saving actions.
On the near-east side, meanwhile, neighborhoods have seen more than $100 million in new streetscapes, housing renovations
and retail development. And the $11.3 million Chase Near Eastside Legacy Center is home there to a fitness facility open to
the public.
NBC’s story also mentioned Indianapolis’ impressive volunteer corps, an army of more than 8,000 who helped stage
the big event—and countless others who participated in the “Super Scarves” program that provided handmade
scarves to all of them.
Indianapolis also got a nod during the coin-toss ceremony, when the referee explained that one side of the coin was an homage
to the “great city of Indianapolis.”
Once the game began, however, the city took a back seat to its honored guests: the New England Patriots and New York Giants.
The Giants won a nail-biter, 21-17.
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I was proud to be an Indy native, even living in Cincinnati for years.
I still consider myself a Hoosier.
Congrats to City Planners.
Amen. Especially by the local media. I've been in Indy for almost 50 years, and have never read a story about the city without reference to "stoplight in a cornfield," "Naptown," or some other hickville reference derogatory to Indy.
Let all the derogatory references to the great city of Indianapolis end here and now. No more. Media (local, national and international), are you listening?
I'm tired of people conflating Indiana and Indianapolis together. The twelfth largest city in the U.S. is not some small town in the middle of nowhere, and should not be depicted by the media as such.