Now What?

We came.  We saw.  We conquered the Sports World.  The confetti is being swept up, the seats are being swept, Brady's tears are being mopped, and the Super Bowl is over.  


Living up to the hype, the "rematch" wasn't over until Tom Brady's hail marry pass bounced incomplete in the end zone; Giants win Super Bowl XLVI 21-17.  Eli Manning collected his second Super Bowl MVP honor along with the shiny new corvette that goes with it.  


So, what now?


By all accounts, Indianapolis, the Super Bowl Host Committee, and Indiana Sports Corp knocked this one completely out of the park.  Everyone from Governor Daniels to Commissioner Goodell have said that Indy performed phenomenally and will get a shot at another big game.  



Allison Mellington and the group at Indiana Sports Corp showed the NFL Owners, the Media, and the World why Indianapolis had complete confidence that the Super Bowl would be successful here.  


By all indications, Indianapolis will be preparing another bid in 2 years or so to present by 2016 for the 2020 game, Super Bowl 54.  And now, our focus turns to our teams.  


The future of Peyton Manning is likely to be decided soon, probably in the coming weeks.  The NFL Scouting Combine, as always, will be in Indianapolis in late February.  There's college basketball with IU, Purdue, Butler, Ball State, Notre Dame, Indiana State, and IUPUI.  The Men's and Women's Big Ten Tournaments will be at the Fieldhouse.  The Indiana Pacers are 16-7 and sit at 4th place in the Eastern Conference.  And we have the most attended single day sporting event in the world in the Indy 500.  That takes us through May.  


If you missed the WFYI documentary "Naptown to Super City", find it.  It shows how Indianapolis took a gamble and invested in Sports as a way to grow the town's economy and draw more diverse commerce and residents.  It worked. Our time is now.  Indianapolis is officially the Sports Capitol of the World.  


Yeah, you heard me.

by Toby Davis, Director