Super Bowl Indianapolis: Hoosier Style

Indianapolis isn't Miami Beach, but that doesn't mean the party surrounding Super Bowl XLVI has to suffer as a result. Quite the contrary, in fact. This is a city well-accustomed to winter celebrations, both large and small, and the people there are totally prepared to have one epic blast over the next few days, whether anyone joins them or not. Are you game?

Yes, It's Probably Going to Be Cold

For any NFL fan nervous about celebrating the Super Bowl in Indianapolis in the dead of a Midwest winter, it’s time to just chill (no pun intended). You’re in good hands, and if you spend your time in the Circle City wisely, you might not even notice the snowy skies or frigid temperatures threatening to put a freeze on your fun.

Not that you’re mistaken in expecting miserable weather in the first place, of course.

And if you peruse the forecasts Indianapolis has experienced in February, the scene you’ll envision might come off as bleak.

Don’t sweat it.

As any Indianapolis native will tell you, after all, the good times don’t necessarily have to decline just because the temperature does, and in some cases a brush with Old Man Winter can even amplify the experience in unique, unexpected ways.

Say what?

For Cold-Weather Tailgating, Attitude is Key

The difference between a pleasurable cold-weather tailgate and a painful one is simply how you look at it. Consider the following situations:

• The 100 percent free, 100 percent natural beer cooler:

If you’ve ever run out of ice on a hot summer day and been forced to chase vodka shots with nothing but warm, stale Blatz (who hasn’t?), then you probably learned a thing or two about appreciating cold weather along the way.

Chilly temperatures don’t just make people cold, after all, they make everything cold, from deviled eggs to Jell-o shots to whatever your heart desires. Why not embrace this convenient little side effect of nature’s wrath and use it to your advantage?

• The great equalizer:

Cold weather not only encourages drinking (for warmth), it also levels the playing field for anyone scheming to cozy up beside an attractive fellow tailgater in ways more moderate environments simply cannot.

Cold-weather party-goers are decked out in so many layers of clothing you can’t tell The Situation from The Invisible Man once you’ve got a couple of drinks in you.

It’s anybody’s ballgame when the freeze is on, and for those of us who actually prefer a setting where our bodies cannot be instantly judged from miles away, the cold can actually provide a welcome relief.

It's Not the End of the World

Allow 27-year-old Indianapolis native Nick Newett to explain: “There’s more of a sense of camaraderie between perfect strangers (in cold weather) when you look around and see we’ve all weathered the same storm together,” Newett said.

A Colts and Pacers fan who throughout his lifetime has witnessed first-hand the city’s capacity to collectively celebrate, Newett tries to see the cold as an opportunity for tailgaters and patrons to connect rather than conflict.

“There’s just something about everyone coming in from the cold, huddling together, taking off their gloves and ordering a round that just feels right,” he said. “It’s right out of a Thomas Kinkade painting.”

Of course if you’re really that concerned about the weather, you can always just hunker down in Super Bowl Village, the three-block entertainment supercenter stationed just north of Monument Circle, where visitors enjoy food, games and live music, all with the assistance of state-of-the-art canopies, infrared heaters, and fire pits.

If you’re looking for a more authentic Hoosier experience or just find yourself craving a change of scenery, it’s important to know there are still plenty of ways to do so without shivering yourself numb in the process.

It’s not like the Super Bowl is the first major sports event the city has hosted, after all, even during the winter: The Colts have played nine home playoff games since 2003 and the NCAA Men’s Final Four has been held there five times since 1991.

In fact, while racing may be the defining pastime for Indiana’s capital city (thanks to a certain 500-mile race with which you might be familiar), basketball, a winter-heavy affair, is practically written into the genetic code of every resident within a 100-mile radius of the place. And football, even though it doesn’t have the same roots in the state as other sports, has been an Indianapolis fixture for almost 30 years.

Have a few measly snowflakes ever dashed the parties associated with those high-profile affairs?

Not according to local bartender Casie Miles, and she ought to know: The 27-year-old has been in the service industry since the age of 15 and is just as comfortable living it up on a beach in Florida as she is in the heart of Broad Ripple, the city's unofficial party capital, located on its far north side.

“During the Final Four a few years back, I worked at Cadillac Ranch (an urban cowboy-themed bar and grill in downtown Indianapolis),” Miles said. “I don’t think I’ve ever popped as many beer bottles open in one weekend than I did that weekend.”

Go Crazy in Indy (Everyone Else Does)

March Madness might not bite as hard as an Indiana February tends to (Miles considers it the worst month for local weather), but does that necessarily mean the Super Bowl party scene will be any different?

For Miles -- who currently tends bar at Broad Ripple Tavern off 62nd and Carrollton but has also worked sports pubs, night clubs, and even Bike Week in Daytona Beach -- the answer is clearly “no.”

“Indianapolis is excited and anxiously awaiting the events that the Super Bowl is bringing to town no matter what the weather might be like,” she said.

Finally, for those so fanatical about football that weather conditions don’t even factor into planning your Super Bowl experience, there’ll be plenty of unique activities available if you don’t mind braving an element or two.

For example, Super Bowl Village will include a 650-foot-long zip line, which will suspend your body 80 feet above Capitol Avenue (tickets cost $10), while tent parties featuring everyone from local garage bands to marquee acts will be peppered throughout the city all week long leading up to the big game.

Then you have the White River Canal, of course, which is always available for an invigorating late-night swim if you’re crazy (or drunk) enough to hop into it. Or at least that’s what Colts punter Pat McAfee would have you believe.

The 24-year-old jumped in the north leg of the canal after a night out in Broad Ripple in late October 2010, on a night that saw temperatures reach the mid-40s and saw McAfee arrested for public intoxication with a blood alcohol content of 0.15.

How did the Indianapolis community respond, you ask?

With resounding support, surprisingly, after the young punter first apologized and admitted his mistake, that is.

In fact, within months of the incident, McAfee’s local celebrity status had grown so fast he was broadcasting an online talk show, hosting a Twitter account with over 20,000 followers and selling T-shirts making light of the very incident that made him famous in the first place.

If that doesn’t sound like the kind of environment you could have a good time in any time of year, what does?