Super Bowl 46

Some people have going to the Super Bowl on their bucket list and I was one of those people too. Thankfully I was blessed with an amazing sister who just so happened to make my dream become a reality not only once, but twice. So, on the eve of Super Bowl 50 I couldn't help but reminisce about my last Super Bowl. It just so happened to be just a little north of us in Indianapolis. Jennifer was pregnant with Brinley and we were happy to be staying in Indy with our good friends the Duritsch's. It turned out to be a pretty awesome week and an even better game.

Upon arrival to Indianapolis Brinley got her first name badge. Since Andrea had been working in credentials she decided to get one made for her first niece.

One day while Andrea was working we decided to check out the NFL Experience. It was where you could participate in a bunch of drills and skills challenges. I even got Jennifer to participate in a few.

Chris and I enjoyed seeing all the extras and behind the scenes experiences. They had make shift lockers from some of the superstars from each team. I wasn't able to get close to the Browns locker because it was right next to the Tim Tebow locker and there was a huge crowd waiting to get a picture in front of it "Tebowing". 

Pretty awesome decal on the side of the Marriott Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. 

One of the most exciting things that happened to us during the week was Andrea surprising us by getting us tickets to media day. Chris and I went and saw all kinds of sports figures and other celebrities. I really regret not taking our good camera to this event. I took all of my pictures with my iPhone so some didn't turn out to be the best quality. Here we are at the coaches press conference where they had the Super Bowl trophy on display. The bottom left picture is of the Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the right picture is the Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and Don Shula. 

We also got to see the three finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The nominees were Phillip Rivers, Charles Tillman and Matt Birk. 

There were some celebrities giving interviews to give their take on who they thought was going to win the big game. A few that I spotted were Vanilla Ice, Adam Sandler, Curt Schilling, Ice Cube, Rosie O'Donnell, Joe Gibbs, and Arthur Blank. The only one I really got the chance to get close enough to speak to was Adam Sandler.

We also saw tons of current and former players. They included Jason Taylor, Steve Young, Michael Irvin, Clay Matthews, Matt Stafford, Stevie Johnson, Maurice Jones Drew, Matt Hasselback, Warren Sapp, Eddie George, Andy Dalton, Tim Tebow, Doug Flutie, Drew Brees, Greg Jennings, and Kurt Warner.

Sunday finally arrived and we got there early for the NFL Tailgate. We tried all of the food and listened to the pre-game entertainment of Coldplay and Lenny Kravitz.

We made it up to our seats and decided to walk around and see what all was inside the stadium. We walked right by this Hall of Famer that played for my Cleveland Browns - Jim Brown. I have no idea why I didn't ask to get a picture with him, but I did get this quick shot. After we walked away Chris asked if I had noticed who he was with and I said no. He was walking with another Hall of Famer - Barry Sanders!

Some action shots from the game. It was a great battle and nobody was going to give up easily.

It is so crazy to see how quickly after the teams leave the field for halftime that they can put together the stage for the halftime show.

I didn't get to see a half time show that I was excited about because it was Madonna, who I really don't like. It was a pretty impressive show and I even knew a few of the songs too.

In the third quarter Andrea came up to see us and we got a few pictures before she headed back down to complete her responsibilities for the night. 

Thankfully the Giants pulled out the win. (I can't stand the Patriots!) We watched the celebration and even captured a few pictures of Andrea down on the field after the game. 

Jennifer and I went downtown before leaving Indy to get a picture with the huge Super Bowl Roman numerals.  

I can never think my sister enough for all the experiences that she has been able to make happen for me. I still can't believe sometimes that I have been blessed to be able to attend the most watched sporting event not once, but twice! If only I could have been able to see my Browns play in the game it would have made it that much better. As for Super Bowl 50 I am going to be happy regardless of the outcome because I think both are really good teams. However, I am going to be pulling for Peyton and the Broncos so that he can maybe ride off into the sunset with a championship. Thanks for reading and God Bless!