This is the journey, the pilgrimage (if you will) of a loud mouthed Colts fan as he drives 1,290 miles south from New York to Miami to cover his beloved Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 44. These are his adventures along the way.
The Super Bowl is often an event fans do not get a chance to experience live. The old saying is the conference championship games are for the fans while the Super Bowl is for the media, NFL corporate sponsors, royal heirs to small European countries, etc. Well, with the slow but steady assertion of blogs like this one, fans writers are finally being given the opportunity to attend the Super Bowl and cover the event as press.
We announced on our podcast two nights ago that I would indeed be covering Super Bowl 44 live from Land Shark Stadium in Miami, FL. I will be there with fellow SB Nation mates Joel Thorman (who is covering for SBNation.com) and David Cariello, who is the head writer fro our Saints blog Canal Street Chronicles. However, even though the NFL is graciously opening its doors to fan blogs covering the game, the event that is the Super Bowl still feels a bit distant for many fans. It is something only viewed through the filter of TV.
Because of this feeling, and because so much that is Super Bowl week is essentially a gigantic media orgy that culminates in the playing of a football game that charges $3 million per ad spot if you want to run a commercial during one of its timeouts, SB Nation and myself felt that this was a wonderful opportunity to make this trip down to Miami a way of connecting fans to the Super Bowl experience.
Plus, it's a road trip, folks! Who doesn't love that!
Ideally, we'd have liked to have done the trip from Indianapolis down to New Orleans and then on to Miami. However, we don't have that kind of money. So, instead, the drive is NY down to Miami. Along the way, I will be stopping off in cities and towns, interviewing football fans and posting a journal of the experience. These are places like Fayetteville, Savannah, Lumberton, Roanoke Rapids, Yulee, Jacksonville, and Richmond. From 195 to 95 all the way south!
Basically, I'll be stopping off an visiting towns that Mike Tunison of KSK and Will Leitch of New York Magazine would never dream of going to because they are stuck up, urban snob douhebags who can't go a day without their cinnamon-sprinkled latte and cranberry flavored scones. OK, I only mention Will here because of this rather snooty article hating on Indianapolis. Overall, I love Will. But that article kind of made it hard for me not to view him as just another Manhattan snob sticking his New York, coke-crusted nose up at Americana. Tunison, on the other hand, is a fart stain and deserves any and all insult barrages levied at his fat, multi-chinned head.
After the jump, I'll provide a rough map of where I'm headed. If you are a Colts fan, or a football fan in general, and you live near the route I'm taking, shoot me an email (sbnationcolts at yahoo dot com) or use the comments here and please give me advice on where to do, places to eat, sites to see, etc. I'm being the typical Internet dork and using Virtual Tourist to plan the trip. Also, if you are a reader and want to meet up while I am moving my way south, let me know. I'll do my best to accommodate.
Pictures, interviews, and thoughts captured on the road will appear here and on SBNation.com. While in Miami, my SB Nation mates and I will provide podcasts, interviews, and other content as we gear up for Saints v. Colts in Super Bowl 44! It's a rare opportunity to experience a Super Bowl, and since the experience is so unique I felt that the journey down there should be unique as well. Check out the route after the jump.
Possible stop-offs to meet people, eat greasy food:
- Richmond, VA
- Roanoke Rapids, NC
- Raleigh, NC
- Fayetteville, NC
- Florence, SC
- Manning, SC (yes, it exists)
- Savannah, GA
- Jacksonville, FL (Oy!)
- St. Augustine, FL
- West. Melbourne, FL
- Port St. Lucie, FL