If I ever complain about an Australian winter again please refer me to this post... I won't stop complaining about the Australian winter when you refer me to it, but it will probably give me a touch more perspective as to what I am going through the next time I am in an Australian winter.
Sunday
Sunday was game-day for the first Patriots game of 3 on my trip. I will also see them in New York and Massachusetts, but that is late December, when I am expecting snow and cold. Right now it is mid-November and I did not expect snow... Cold, sure, but not snow... Sunday and Monday would be a steep learning curve for your favourite winter green Australian traveller. (I mean winter green like, it is winter and I am new to what I should be doing... Yeah, you got it)
I woke up late in an attempt to bank some sleep for the two days to come, as I said in my last blog post, the reason I said I was staying 3-4 nights in Indianapolis would become clearer later, well, this is where I spell it out.
At the urging of my wonderful friend and travel agent Brianna I booked the Megabus from Indianapolis to Nashville. This was after researching the cost of flying, hiring a car, and using Greyhound Bus lines. For $10 I could travel from Indy to Nashville and see both Sunday Night Football (SNF) and Monday Night Football (MNF)... The catch?... A 4:25 AM departure time from downtown Indianapolis.
Travel Agent Encouragement Quote of 3 Weeks ago:
Sam: 'Argh! 4:25 AM?'
Bri: "For $10, I'm sorry to say it hon, but man up and take the bus"
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"Man up and take the bus"...
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Well, that's what I ended up booking, and that's why I needed to bank up some sleep.
I hung around the hostel for a while, got a shower, had something small to eat (figuring I could find a place to eat downtown prior to the game) and caught an Uber in to the downtown area of Indianapolis. The time was about 4 PM, with kickoff at 8:30 PM.
I got dropped off about a block from the Bankers Life Fieldhouse where I'd been a few nights earlier for the Pacers game and had a wander around the surrounding streets in search of a place to eat. There were a few people wearing shorts... Shorts! I mean, it is one thing to be shirtless inside a basketball arena when it is -3 outside... But it is something else entirely to be outside in the weather wearing a jumper and shorts! Jason would be proud of this guy for showing his true grit in refusing pants (except that he was a Patriot fan wearing a throwback red Boston Patriots jersey). For a bit of contrast in perspective, I had pants on, but I also had 5 layers on my top half and a scarfe and beanie.
"How are you living" question of the day: *to shorts wearing Pats fan*
Sam: "Aren't you cold in shorts?"
Pats guy: 'No, its beautiful!'
*Pats guy walks away with group*
Sam (to himself): 'How are you living?'
I found a place called the Colts Grille, and tried to get in there... Unfortunately there was a 2 hour wait for a table... Fine if I was hanging out with others, but I didn't want to wait there by myself...
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| A photograph I took the day before... Before the crowds turned up |
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| I did like the irony of Samuel Adams being the beer sponsor for 'Dunk New England' when Samuel Adams himself was from Boston |
At this point in the day the first snowflakes began coming down from the heavens and collecting on my jacket and on my gloves. There were municipal workmen spreading salt onto the sidewalks and the streets to keep them useable which was a novelty to me; and the closer I got to the arena there were a few people using gardening equipment to spread salt on the sidewalks.
I tried several other pubs on my walk towards the stadium, but each were full and I didn't particularly wish to wait for a table at any of them... In the end I took the Harold & Kumar route and went to White Castle... Which probably wasn't the smartest idea I have ever had, but I was hungry. I can see why those guys had about 50 of the burger between them when they *spoiler alert* eventually got to White Castle, those things are tiny! Sliders will do that I guess, but these weren't even that hearty, really, really thin sliders, bit of cheese, onion and a pickle... I mean, I took off the pickle, but the rest really wasn't that thick and hearty... I did go the cheese sticks (which weren't awful, but they were fast food cheese sticks, so take that how you will... I've been forever comparing cheese sticks to the mozzarella pinwheels they have at Chuck Wagon on O'Connell Street back in North Adelaide)... Making the most of the free re-fills while I was there I soon moved on and headed to the arena to pick up my tickets.
At this point in time it was about 4:45 PM; the afternoon games had kicked off (with Detroit-Arizona and Philadelphia-Green Bay being the notable two games in the afternoon), and I was at the stadium parking lot where not much was open, and virtually nothing was set up.
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| Snow coming in sideways |
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| The fanzone area had been set up, but nothing was open! |
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| Who knew it would snow in the American winter? |
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| Don't let the smile fool you... |
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| An attitude many got behind |
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| Imagine the time it would take for her to get ready! |
Whilst there I found the NBC Sunday Night Football Bus which is driven to every SNF game of the season. I found a line and not knowing what it was for, but assuming it was to enter the bus and get out of the cold I stood in line.
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| SNF Bus |
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| Cold but smiling |
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| Inside the bus |
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| 2013 SNF MVP Ball - Every MVP from each SNF game in the 2013 season signed the ball |
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| The current time to the Superbowl is less than this obviously |
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| Lombardi Trophy |
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| I stopped at the 'photo-bomb' couch before exiting the bus |
Snow is fun in the movies... But less so in person after the first little bit. I am not sick of snow yet... But I want to be much more prepared for it than I was in Indianapolis!
Disbelief Moment of the Day: *upon entering the Colts Gear Shop for the 4th time*
Attendant: "Good evening sir, how are you today?"
Sam: 'Cold! This is the first time I've seen snow'
Attendant: *makes face like I'm crazy* "Whaaaaaaat? Seriously?"
Sam: 'Legit. I'm from Australia'
Attendant: "Oh, well, de-thaw a bit then!"
Sam: 'Thank you'
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| Yeah, it snowed a fair bit pre-game, when I arrived there was no snow on these plants |
"Keith Thomas may have something to say about that" moment of the day:
*Announcement at gates*
"Welcome to Lucas Oil Stadium, thank you for being a part of the Horse Shoe and thank you for being a part of the best fan experience in in the NFL and all of sports, an Indianapolis Colts game day"
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| Lucas Oil Stadium |
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| View from my seats |
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| Smiling and warm |
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| The great man |
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| Patriots doing warm up stretches |
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| Andrew Luck and the Indy offence warming up |
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| "You're excited? Feel these nipples!" -Bob Costas |
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| New England scrimmage to warm up |
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| Yep... Bagpipes! |
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| Patriot v Colts @ Lucas Oil Stadium |
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| Patriots run out... |
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| ... To a sea of booing |
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| Indianapolis enters the arena |
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| Pyrotechnics |
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| Very swanky |
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| National Anthem |
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| New England won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half |
The woman to my right was there with her son, and after about 10 minutes of the actual game going on she apologised to me for being so loud and explained that it was years of cheerleading. I didn't catch her name, but she was so passionate about her team, screaming from whistle to whistle. Another thing I have to say about Indianapolis, I know I kind of said it above briefly but, everyone is so well mannered! Around me I did not hear one swear word all game, and the few Patriots fans around me were treated with respect and good humour... Even when a bad call went against the Colts the worst I heard was "that's crap Ref!" or "you gotta call that hold!" or "Tom Brady is a big cry baby". If that was me at a Port game I'd have sworn more than never. I cannot speak highly enough about the people of Indianapolis!
The game began with a short Colts drive, followed by a Patriot touchdown drive.
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| Gostkowski kicks off for New England to begin the game |
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| The Indianapolis offence |
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| Andrew Luck looks to pass |
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| Luck ends up scrambling and sliding to set up a 2nd Down |
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| New England on offence |
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| Can't remember what down, lets say 2nd... & Goal |
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| Touchdown New England |
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| Gray celebrates |
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| Colts Touchdown |
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| Colts Touchdown - Kicking team running on |
The second half offensive efficiency of New England was brilliant, they went for a touchdown on each offensive series until the end of the game when they kneeled down to end it... The Colts offence on the other hand wasn't quite as efficient and only managed to post 20 points for the game.
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| Colts on offence |
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| Flag on the play |
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| Pass interference, defence. As the foul occurred in the endzone the ball will be placed at the 1 yard line. First down. |
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| Gronk kind of went overboard in his blocking on the play |
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| Lead to this skirmish |
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| Refs breaking it up |
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| And doing their laundry |
The Colts fans started leaving in earnest just after a Gronkowski touchdown late to make it a rout. And after a night of teaching me about the game, about their city and their customs I said goodbye to my seat-mates for the evening. I'm not sure they'll ever read this, but even so, thank you for making my night enjoyable and being enthusiastic about my trip and the game despite it being a one sided Patriot win, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
Final, Patriots 42, Colts 20
Jonas Gray rushed for 4 Touchdowns and for close to 200 yards for New England, and Tom Brady threw for 19 for 30, 257 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Gronkowski was the main target in the air for the Patriots, and had an emphatic touchdown late to put it beyond any doubt.
For Indianapolis Andrew Luck went 23 for 39, 303 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT (and was also the leading rusher). Coby Fleener was their major destroyer in the air with 144 receiving yards.
After the game I steeled myself and re-entered the cold. It was about 11:30 PM. I was going to catch an Uber to the hostel, but it would've been a 25 minute wait, and I figured if I walked away from the stadium I would eventually find a cab... The layer of snow on the ground and on the plants surrounding the arena was madness... Thank god they put down that salt... The downside was I was wearing shoes that weren't so suited to the snow and they're kind of salt stained now... This is that steep learning curve I was talking about at the start! The feel of snow under your feet is really weird at first as well, kind of spongey but at the same time really slippery once you've planted... But maybe it was just my terrible shoes!
Monday
I eventually found a cab and made my way back to the hostel. It was just after midnight and I was figuring I'd get maybe 2.5 hours sleep before having to get up again and head back downtown for the Megabus... I was just hoping that I wouldn't need to stand in the snow when that was going on.
I packed my bag for the most part, got into bed and slept for the 2 hours... Waking up I needed to make a decision for how to get downtown. I chose Uber because I could track it on my phone and I knew I would be picked up within 5 minutes. Better safe than sorry, I wanted to get downtown so I knew I was at the bus stop.
This went off without a hitch and I ended up downtown about 15 minutes early. The Uber driver was chatting to me about the Beatles 'Love' show which I'd gone and seen a week or so earlier... Funny how that works... The bus stop for Megabus isn't at all like a Greyhound or Firefly, insofar as, you're getting picked up on the side of the road and not from a station. So, I huddled in a shelter big enough for a few people with these two random guys who had worked at the SNF game and were on their way down to Nashville for MNF. One of them was fucking crazy, like, he'd been smoking something crazy, and went on and on trying to imitate my accent and then putting on a thick British accent. I've found that more and more whilst getting Americans to imitate my accent, it ends up British... I'm not sure if that is a South Australia thing or if that's just me.
Anyway, the bus eventually came, I got on, found a seat at the back between two couples, when a girl in the row in front of me offered her seat (she had two to herself) and went and sat with her friend across the aisle. The friend seemed to question why she'd offer her seat but when it was explained that I had just got on and there were already 4 people in the backrow she seemed to quieten down. So, I had two seats to myself, and managed to sleep intermittently after I sat down.
I actually got to sleep properly before after an hour we stopped and the lights came on and I was woken up... I had no idea where I was... I couldn't tell you which state I was in, what time it was (aside from estimating based on start time... Or, you know, checking my watch), but we got off the bus for a 30 minute stop (the bus had been going since Chicago and the driver needed a break), I trudged through the thick snow and slush on the ground in my shoes not suited to it (as I had already packed I didn't really bother unpacking for the sake of a bus-ride) and bought some food and drink (water and a rice krispy square, I just wanted to do the Freddie Quimby scene in my head). Then back onto the bus and fell asleep again. I awoke again in Louisville, Kentucky... I know this because the girl who gave up her seat got off there and was wearing a University of Louisville jacket and talking about classes... So, I have been to Kentucky, even though I never actually set foot in Kentucky (I am claiming Minnesota the same way, I spent 20 minutes in an airport waiting lounge there).
I slept again on and off until we got into Nashville. It was about 9:45 AM. I caught a cab to the hostel, checked in, and had to wait until 12:45 PM to get into my room, so I sat in the lobby and caught up on my blog.
I eventually got upstairs, found my bed (see the previous blog post related to finding prime bedding in hostels), got a towel from the front desk and then went and took a shower. I walked into the bathroom and immediately missed the Indy Hostel, as the Nashville Downtown Hostel was a shared bathroom, and the showers were all in a row, with a thin sheet of plastic all that was separating me from the rest of the people in the men's room. Now, this isn't a problem and you know this going in to a hostel experience, but it is a little confronting when you see it and realise that you're going back to high school having to get changed in front of other dudes (or the gym I guess, but I don't go to the gym). Luckily showering in the middle of the afternoon the place was deserted. I put on some warm clothes and headed out in search of some food.
The hostel is right on 1st Avenue, which is the closest street to the Cumberland River, literally across the road from Fort Nashborough (or the replica anyway) which is the original stockade established in early 1779 which lead eventually to the city of Nashville. If you walk out of the hostel, across the road, and over about 20m of park you hit a fence and you get this view:
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| LP Field |
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| My empire has expanded into Clothing AND Shoes... I mean, by the end of this trip I'll have everything covered! |
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| Tennessee State Capitol building |
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| Plaque on the Capitol |
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| Nashville War Memorial Plaza |
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| View down Broadway to Honky Tonk Row |
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| Broadway |
Towards the end of my meal a couple of old Steeler fans walked in, steeped in yellow and black, one wearing the number 52, one wearing the number 53 (in the bumble-bee style throwback style), and we got to talking. I really wish I'd gotten a photograph with them. Their names were Dale and Patrick; Dale had driven from Arkansas and Patrick had flown down from Pittsburgh. It has been a great week for meeting good people, because these guys were two of the nicest guys I'd met. They both seemed really intrigued in my travel plan, both what I'd done, where I was going, and the fact that I was doing it by myself.
Age Questions:
Dale: 'So, how old are you?'
Sam: "26"
Dale: 'Oh, wow, really? I can't remember what I was doing when I was your age'
Patrick: '26? I can't remember what I did yesterday'
Sam: "What about you guys?"
Dale: 'I'm 53 and Patrick here is 52'
Sam: "Is that why you're wearing a jersey with the number 53 and him with 52? Do you guys get a new one every year?"
Dale: 'Ha, yeah, it helps us remember'
They try to get to a game every year, and try to go to an away game so that they can see different arenas and teams. They all used to live in Pittsburgh and shared season tickets with a group of friends due to the high cost. This is another thing I'll never complain about (I don't believe I have when at home anyway, but I won't complain going forward), the cost for nosebleed season tickets that they had were $100 a game each ticket, you had to buy all 8 home games and 2 pre-season games. Compare that $1,000 to my $360-odd season ticket to 11 PAFC home games sitting on the fence, really makes you appreciate it. Apparently to go into the Superbowl Lottery (if at the start of the Playoffs the Steelers are a competing team) it costs $1,650 per ticket with no guarantee of being selected. This money gets returned to you if you are not selected. Again, compare that to the non-refundable $5 we got charged to go in for a guaranteed ticket should Port Adelaide have made the 2014 Grand Final and you feel as though we don't have it so bad in Australia.
Sport in Australia is affordable compared to the rest of the world. Believe it!
We went through some other topics, like things they'd done in their day and other stories about family sports and death... The kind of things you talk about in a bar with two Steeler fans right?
Had to Be There Moment of the Day: *talking about the long memories of barstaff*
Dale: "We were hanging out one weekend and thought we would drive up to see some college football, like, between his college and my college, we used to play back in the day. Patrick here did something when he was playing up there and wasn't allowed back on the campus, but we thought 'Ah to hell with it, lets go anyway'. So, we drove for 800 miles to get to this game and we get to the stadium and wouldn't you know it, there game wasn't on, it was in my college's town which was nowhere near where we were. Anyway, we figure we'll make the best of a bad situation and we go to this bar. So, we walk in, belly up to the bar and the bar tender looks at us, points to Patrick and says he isn't allowed in. So, we drove all that way for nothing!"
I had to go charge my phone and camera before the game, so I bid them farewell and headed to the hostel. They had to go hobnobbing with work people who had their tickets (Dale works for Mars Chocolates in America) so they were off as well. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon which began with spicy chicken... Can't lose!
After charging my various appliances it was time for the game.
I planned ahead. I wore thermal pants under my jeans. I wore my thickest socks. I wore 3 thermal shirts, a jumper, a jacket and my heavy jacket. I wore my heavier shoes. I wore a scarfe and beanie... I'm sorry to describe exactly what I was wearing, but given the night I had this will become much clearer as to why it is important... I did plan ahead for the cold.
I walked over to the arena after the gates had opened (compared to my day in Indy I felt this was smart)
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| LP Field from the bridge over the river |
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| LP Field |
Upon entering the arena they gave a blue Tennessee Titans 'Salute to Service' towel, which I assume was for waving. Though, it could have been a Titans answer to the Pittsburgh 'Terrible Towel' which I saw every Steeler fan carrying during my afternoon in Nashville. I saw vendors along the street selling Terrible Towels and other Steeler gear. This surprised me so much! The street vendors selling more gear for the away team than the home team! Unheard of!
I made my way up to my seat and took this photograph:
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| View from my seat |
Alabama Plans:
Sam: "So, what plans do you have for your accounting qualification"
Alabama: 'Make lots of money'
Sam: "Yeah... Yeah, we all say that to begin with"
Alabama: '.........'
Sam: "Yeah, no, good plan"
About 5 minutes before the teams were due to come out onto the field I headed back up to my seat and reasoned that with something to watch I'd be warmer because I'd have something to take my mind off the cold. Wishful thinking.
The pre-game announcers didn't have good news for me.
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| Pittsburgh Steelers v Tennessee Titans @ LP Field |
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| So, -2 at kickoff (7:30 PM); -5 at 9 PM; -6 at the end of the game. |
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| Putting the new towel to good use pre-game |
As the Steelers came out the noise was immense, like, pro-Steeler immense... Their fans travel in numbers, and the number of yellow towels waving all night was crazy. You'd think it was a home game at some stages, especially given the lack of noise the Titan crowd made.
I thought this was odd because tightening up probably isn't what you want to do before a game, that's how you injure yourself!
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| Steelers enter the arena |
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| Titans enter |
An old black woman came and sat next to me, explained that she followed Pittsburgh (despite wearing the blue Titans towel around her head) and told me that it would be full by kick off... Somehow I didn't believe her... She also scolded me for leaving Australia to sit in this bitter cold!
Anyway, kick-off finally came. I was warmish in my upper body (cold hands though), but below my waist I was as cold as I've ever been, with my legs kicking and jogging on the spot to try to keep warm.
The Steelers took their first possession downfield for a Field Goal. Then on their first play from scrimmage the Titans quarterback, Zach Mettenberger threw a pick-6. Less than 5 minutes into the game it was Pittsburgh 10, Tennessee 0. I was thinking mercifully that I could leave at half time if it became a blowout!
In-joke of the Day:
Roethlisberger - w/lot
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| Steelers return the interception for a TD |
The second quarter saw the Titans put up a fair old fight for a team with only 2 wins after the halfway mark of the season. Ben Roethlisberger threw a bad interception at the goal line after a long drive, giving Tennessee the ball on their own 20 yard line with less than 2 minutes to go in the first half. At this point my knees were seizing up and whenever I stood up it felt like I was made of unoiled metal. The first play of the ensuing drive was an 80 yard touchdown pass... The Titans were going into half time ahead 17-13.
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| Don't let the thumbs up fool you... My hand probably froze in that pose |
I eventually resolved to see the game out. My knees were still feeling like metal, and my toes finally regained some feeling during my time in the bathroom, but come on, I was watching a game from a bathroom! I went back to my seat and immediately was rewarded with another Tennessee touchdown. About 5 minutes into my return to the seats though I was regretting my decision. The cold had gotten back into my legs and I was now beginning to lose my upper body warmth stronghold! The weather was nearing -10 degrees, all my layers were no match for that... I really should've worn a set of tracky daks over my jeans...
The 3 Quarter Time rev up for the crowd was one of my favourites from the games I have seen in America (still a distant second to the San Francisco Giants video leading into the Bottom of the 9th inning when I was here in 2010, but), it had everyone's favourite Office Linebacker Terrible Terry Tate (the bit he recreated on the screen was what he did at 1:14 of the video).
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| "The Pain-train is coming baby, the Pain-train is coming!" |
Pittsburgh opened the last quarter with a touchdown, bringing the score to 24-20 Tennessee. They scored again 5 minutes later to bring the score to 27-24 Pittsburgh. The last quarter felt like a trip to the dentist... But a trip to the dentist where they were performing work inside an industrial freezer... I was shaking by the end... My legs felt numb, I couldn't feel my toes, my knees felt like they were locked in place (and I hate to think how hard I'd need to look if I wanted to go back to the bathroom). Tennessee made a run at retrieving the game they'd blown but weren't good enough to do so. The beauty of having a team name that is shared by a popular Disney movie is that you get to cherry pick the best lines from the film to use to fire up the crowd. They showed this clip from about the 0:23 second mark late in the game when they needed a stop to get the ball back and have a chance to win... Unfortunately the Steelers gain another several yards, and I assume Will Patton a.k.a. Coach Yoast had to take every last one of 'em out...
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| Mercy... End of game handshakes! |
Mercifully the game ended and I was able to slowly shuffle down the ramp to the bottom level, slowly shuffle across the bridge and to 1st Avenue, slowly fumble for my key to get inside the comparative warmth of the hostel (my hands were virtually numb at this point as well), and get to my room where I sat in the dark waiting to warm up sufficiently before putting on my pyjamas and curling up into bed...
Trying to sleep was interesting to begin with. I had curled up to try to warm up, but feeling my knees, despite having sat inside for 20 minutes, were as cold as when I was outside. It was amazing how cold I actually was. It felt like my knees were acting like two massive ice-blocks that were anchored in my bed. Thankfully in the same way as my first night in Indianapolis, the night before left me tired enough that I could sleep and sleep well.
This was easily the coldest night of my life... I know that I have sat through some cold days/nights at the old Football Park, MCG, Waverley Park, Kardinia Park and various SANFL venues, but never in my life have I willingly sat idly in -10 degree weather for the sake of sports.
Let me repeat the title of this post: IF I EVER COMPLAIN ABOUT AN AUSTRALIAN WINTER AGAIN, REFER ME TO THIS POST
Never again will I have a leg to stand on when I walk down to Adelaide Oval and comment that "it is as cold as anything out here" or "it is as cold as a witch's tit" or "as cold as a mother in law's kiss"... Never have I been so cold in my life...
Let this be a lesson to everyone!
Writer's Note: I did have many more photographs and the occasional video from the Titans-Steelers game, but the internet here in Memphis isn't really lending itself to posting these photos. Just take my word for it!
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