Going to need some headliner shades for such a headliner event.
The Super Bowl. The single greatest sporting event in America. For football fans, it’s the pinnacle event of the season. It encapsulates the entire season’s highs and lows into one final opportunity to watch the beloved game until the warm autumn days of September. For everyone else, it’s a chance to enjoy the commercials, to anticipate whether or not the half time show will be better than last year’s, and to enjoy some junk food. But for Sunglass Warehouse (and the rest of Indianapolis), Super Bowl 46 was much more than that.
When reporters began stirring skepticism about Indianapolis, suggesting our city lacks anything particularly outstanding, I started to doubt our city that’s known for its business conventions and Final Four Championship basketball events. One optimistic journalist focused on “Hoosier hospitality” — other writers were quick to point out that the only thing worth talking about in Indy were its people, not what the city has to offer.
Indianapolis sure proved the cynics wrong.
I could hardly recognize my hometown as I walked through downtown Indianapolis: SB signage, trophy decals 50 stories tall, pop-up tent parties, and multiple concert stages were just a few of the sights. Clips from shows like Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night made our city look fantastic. SW bloggers, Beth and Maggie T, even went to Jimmy’s shows!
Maggie & Jimmy!
Even if you couldn’t afford VIP treatment like all the celebs who visited Indianapolis, there was plenty to do. The NFL Experience and free concerts by top artists were hits for everyone. Concerts ranged from a throwback to the ’70s with the Village People (YMCA!), to LMFAO, who co-starred the half time show. Several members of the Sunglass Warehouse team, incluidng myself, all went to see LMFAO, but couldn’t find each other amidst the thousands upon thousands of people. You know we were all party-rocking our highlighter neon wayfarers though!
Speaking of highlights and half-time show performers, SW blogger Adam’s favorite part was the performance by Madonna with Cee-lo, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, and M.I.A. (check out LMFAO’s flashy white sunglasses & Cee-lo’s modern aviator sunglasses). Like Adam, many thought the half time show was much improved over past years, but don’t take his word for it – see what celebrities had to say:
I agree after seeing the half time show first hand — it was incredible. Thanks to Beth’s connections, Maggie T and I both worked the SUITES at the Super Bowl! Although we didn’t meet any celebrities, stars like Carrie Underwood, John Travolta, and 50 cent were sighted by friends. It didn’t matter though; it was enough watching the game come down to Tom Brady’s last-second Hail Mary pass falling incomplete. What a great game!
A little piece of Super Bowl "Suite"ness
All in all, Indianapolis Super Bowl XLVI was the experience of a lifetime. Our resident Project Manager, Erika said, “From the way the city transformed into a gigantic party, to orchestrating the masses, to the zip-line, to the digital media, I was so impressed with everything.” I mean, how can you go wrong when your hometown turns into a spring break carnival for a week and you see stars like Shaq, John Hamm, Jason Bass, and Alan Covert?!?
Maggie's Super View!
Oh, and on that note, stay tuned for next week’s Spring Break-themed posts. We’re having a contest to help you, your suitcase, and that soon-to-be beach bod get ready for Spring Break!
Image sources: Sacbee.com, Ghanamma.com
