Lucas Oil Stadium Open House

Late this afternoon, I drove downtown to get my first inside glimpse of the Indianapolis Colts' new playing field: Lucas Oil Stadium. This new $700M creation is a showplace for the Colts and really, all of Indiana. It should be, since mucho taxpayer dollars went into its construction. Obviously, the Colts have parlayed their recent successes into convincing Indianapolis residents to build this 8th wonder of the world. While not the biggest stadium (seating for 63,000) in the NFL, it may be the fanciest. It has both a retractable roof and front window which opens up to the Indianapolis downtown skyline.

I met up with David Abbott, my seat-mate for Colts' games in his tailgating parking lot near the NK Hurst Co. and we hoofed over to the stadium together for our look-see. At 3 PM, we took the brand new escalators up to our 5th level seating along the goal line on the visitors side of the field. We were both quite impressed with the view that we were afforded from our new location. We are in row 2 of our seating area, assuring us a clear view of the field at all times. We sat in our new seats and then heard the first announcement that the stadium roof would open at 4 PM. Unfortunately, there must have been some kind of glitch because the roof didn't really open until about 4:30 PM. We watched as the front window parted and then finally the roof opened fully. Wind poured in which caused the banners to wave while sun drenched down on those at the far northeast end. Luckily for us, we will never be sitting in those sun-drenched seats as this may be quite hot for September games.

Finally, we walked around the concourse of the stadium noting the wide walkways, multiple restrooms, and concession stands. The theme around the concourse is both Colt's football and racing with many exhibits touting the Lucas Oil name.

View of Lucas Oil Stadium from the south



Front concourse lobby area of the stadium


Large open stadium foyer near the front (open) window


Phil smiling with the roof and front window wide open



YouTube Slide & Video Show with music

Marders go to the Fair

I think that most of you had already heard about my injury after the spill from my motorcycle. All-in-all, I was pretty lucky coming out of it with a separated shoulder and scraped up knee. Probably the biggest downer for me has been the lack of golf. So, in place of it, I decided that I'd do some activities that have gone by the wayside for lack of available time. That's what the extra trip to Colt's Camp was about. The next activity on the list would be a visit to the Indiana State Fair. It's really been a long, long time since I attended. I think that the last time Patty attended was when our kids were quite young (and I didn't go then). Thinking back, (for me) it probably was before our kids were born and the young version of Cliff Rohde came a visiting Indiana. I'm thinking that was about 33 years ago. So, it has been a long time.......

We've had just a beautiful month of August in Indiana. We've had very little rain and temperatures have been in the low 80's. You can't beat that for this time of year. So, the weather was good and the time was available so "why not go?".

We left the house around 9:30 AM and entered the fairgrounds on the northeast entrance and parked. School was already back in session around here so the crowds were way down from earlier in the week. We began by taking the tram (pulled by a bio-diesel tractor) around the grounds, passing the grandstand and "Main Street", going through the newly constructed covered bridge and getting off at the "Celebration Park" corner. Here, we entered the 4-H Exhibit Hall. We really enjoyed seeing the exhibits that the kids put together here. Lots of 3x2 posters, original artwork, crafts, and the like. It was heartening to know that there are still lots of kids around who make the time and effort to put these projects together. They were really fun to look at. From there, we saw the Butterfly Park and lumberjack exhibit, heading back toward Main Street. On the way, we went into the Ag/Hort building and took a gander at the many fine vegetables, plants, and flowers on display. We stopped for some lunch at a booth on Main Street before continuing.

After lunch, it was time to see the farm animal exhibits. What a gas! First, we entered the cattle barn where dairy cows were relaxing contently and/or being milked. We slipped through the building and entered the storied Pepsi Coliseum. Here, youngsters paraded their cattle past judges with a critical eye while folks like us, up in the seats, watched. Leaving the cattle barn, we next entered the Sheep Barn. Immediately, we noted some sheep-shearing going on while most of the barn was empty. We walked toward the rear and spotted some lambs needing a little attention. Patty scratched one lamb's head giving both some scratcher and scratchee some enjoyment (followed by extensive hand washing by the scratcher). Next stop along the trail was the hog barn. Lot's of smelly, noisy pigs to see along with the one called the "World's Largest Boar". As expected, the newborn pigs stole the show. We ended our farm animal tour in the Poultry Barn. What a cacophony of noise in this place with chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits filling our senses with sounds and smells.

By now, it was nearly 3 PM. We stopped to see the WISH-TV weather show in the "Our Land Pavilion". We made the big loop back to the car, bought some junk food (caramel corn), and briefly observed the "cross cut saw" demonstration (where the Governor's wife and State Fair Queen participated) in the Pioneer Village area.

All-in-all, we had a fine time seeing Indiana's finest, yearly exhibit.


(L)This year's theme at the Fair (R) Patty, attending to a lamb's scritch-scratching



(L) Rooster in the Poultry Building (R) view of the fair's midway

Pigs & Roosters put on a show at the fair.
Jim Nabors "Back Home Again" for background music.



Musical Slide Show of all our State Fair Photos.
Background music: "On the Banks of the Wabash"

See the same photos in higher resolution with annotations here:
http://www.philmarder.com/marderhomepage/photogallery/State_Fair_2008/index.html

Back to Colts Camp

I headed back to Terre Haute today for another look-see of the Indianapolis Colts training camp. This time (for obvious reasons) I drove a car there. I took I70 and got there by 8:20 AM. I was surprised to see that the practice was moved from the Rose-Hulman Stadium (Cook Stadium)to the adjacent practice fields. That turned out to be a much cozier venue for observing practice. For here, you get much closer to the players as they go through their drills. The practice lasted much longer that the one I went to in July. It was way more intense. There were offense, defense and special teams squads all practicing separately followed by team-versus-team drills. It was a lot more fun to watch and photograph. A couple of things seemed quite interesting. First off, Marlin Jackson (cornerback) has definitely arrived as a team leader. He was quite a stud out there. I was also surprised to see backup quarterback, Jared Lorenzen (13) practicing as a long snapper (Justin Snow's position). It made me think that they are trying there best to find a place for him on the team.


Cornerback, Marlin Jackson (28) talks with Tim Jennings (23) on the sideline


Backup quarterback, Jared Lorenzen (13) practices being a long-snapper after practice

See more photos from this practice here:
http://philmarder.com/marderhomepage/Colts/Colts_Camp_2008_2/index.html


Some movie clips from the Aug 12, 2008 practice

Double Dare you to guess who that is?

Check this newspaper clipping out from 1987. Do you recognize any familiar faces in the crowd?

BTW: Here's Marc Summer today:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/marc_summers

Motorcycle trip to Colt's Camp

July 31, 2008
Motorcycle trip to Colt's training camp

What a fine way to spend a Thursday at the end of July! Today, at 7:30 in the morning I packed my Honda Shadow and drove west for about 80 miles along the old National Road, US 40. I passed by the small town of Stilesville, Putnamville, Reelsville, and Brazil before arriving just east of Terre Haute, Indiana at The Rose-Hulman Institute for a look at the Indianapolis Colt's football training camp. This was, by far, the longest trip I've taken on my motorcycle. Old US 40 is a beautiful road west of Indianapolis. It's four lanes wide with very little vehicle traffic. The ride through rolling hills was just beautiful. I arrived at the camp ~ 9:45 AM and entered the stadium area where ~ 400 other fans watched the practice. What surprised me most was how intimately involved (head coach) Tony Dungy, was. He called all the plays and watched the team's execution intently. The practice was over by 10:30 AM. I watched the players walk off the field (some greeting their families) while autograph seekers waited patiently for a chance of getting a player or coach's signature. Those who waited were not disappointed. After the practice, I strolled through the grounds and booths and then got back on my motorcycle for the ride home. I stopped at a McDonald's in the quaint town of Brazil, Indiana before coming home the rest of the way. Total trip: 160 miles and quite an experience......


Phil in the stands of Rose-Hulman at Indianapolis Colt's training camp


Coach Dungy directs the plays on the practice field


Coach Dungy signs some autographs after practice


For more photos: click on this link:
http://philmarder.com/marderhomepage/photogallery/Colts_Camp_Album/index.html