Last year at this time I drove down to Indianapolis twice to see the Colts in the playoffs. This year was no exception except for the fact they were playing on Wild Card weekend rather than later in the playoffs. This worked out for my schedule since the Chicago Bears are now playing on the Divisional Playoff weekend. For this road trip, I was able to get a babysitter so I was set to drive to Indianapolis for the evening.
Pre-Game Dining
I arrived in Indianapolis early to give myself plenty of …

It turns out the Indianapolis Colts were staying in our hotel on Saturday night – so much for the poor reviews on tripadvisor.com. Since the AFC Championship Game did not start until 3 pm we had plenty of time to sleep in and then go to brunch. I had picked out Patachou on the Park for brunch. My first pick, City Café, is closed for some reason on Sundays – even this Sunday with a major football game taking place.
Obtaining TicketsOn Saturday morning, I emailed a guy on craigslist.org about …

Last week (before the Colts playoff game versus the Ravens) the Ultimate Sports Wife mentioned she did not have to teach ice skating for a full day the following Saturday morning (tomorrow) and asked if we should go anywhere for the weekend. I was already planning to drive to Indianapolis for the AFC Championship Game if the Colts defeated the Baltimore so I mentioned to Nicole we should go to Indianapolis if the Colts won their game (and somewhere else if they did not).
Booking the HotelWhen I got …

After sprinting to Lucas Oil Stadium, my ticket was scanned and I entered the stadium. I heard over the speakers there was 12:39 left in the first quarter. I left the Pacers game with 2:24 left and I was in Lucas Oil Stadium after 2:21 – pretty much as even as I could have hoped. 30 seconds later I was looking at the scoreboard as I stood in the concourse overlooking the end zone where Matt Stover kicked his first field goal with 10:44 left in the first quarter.
Secondary Ticket …

All week I planned to attend the Indianapolis Colts AFC Divisional Playoff game versus the Baltimore Ravens. Since that game did not start until 8:15 ET I wondered if there was another game I could attend earlier in the day. There was. The Pacers game had been rescheduled to 6 pm because of the playoff game at Lucas Oil Stadium. However, I knew that NBA games normally last between 2 hours and 15 minutes and 2 hours and 30 minutes. Thus, I did not think …

After watching Iowa and Ohio St. go to overtime Saturday afternoon, it was hard to believe that the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts could play a more dramatic game, but Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Bill Belichick pulled it off.
Pre Game DiningWe arrived in Indianapolis around 2:00 pm and parked in a downtown parking lot for $20. We wandered around downtown for a bit before settling down at the Ugly Monkey located at 373 S. Illinois St. Surprisingly, the Ugly Monkey was a fun bar between the free shots …