February 3, 2008
Sweet taste of victory lingers
Colts' Super Bowl win a year ago has helped boost the city's image, build team's fan base
By Mark Alesia
Wet confetti rained on Tom Zupancic, his suit and cell phone casualties of the decision to eschew the press box and sit with his family in the drenched stands to watch the Indianapolis Colts win last year's Super Bowl.
Now on the field amid the celebrating players, coaches and executives, Zupancic, the Colts' vice president of sales and promotions, shared the moment with his wife and three kids, who had jumped the wall, too.
"It was one of those days where you hope it's not once in a lifetime," Zupancic said, "but it was once in 24 seasons of football."
That's how long the Colts have been in Indianapolis, and a year ago on Super Bowl Sunday, the city was bursting with excitement, savoring a payoff for years of emotional and financial investment.
As the New England Patriots and New York Giants meet in Super Bowl XLII, Indy will be pushing through another winter Sunday, just an observer of America's biggest sports event. Yet team officials and others see a lasting legacy of the Colts' 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears on a rainy night in South Florida.
Although a Super Bowl victory doesn't mean a huge financial boost for the team itself, in terms of image, exposure and forging community bonds, the overall effect is, as they say, priceless.
Not to mention far-reaching.
"All over the world. You could be traveling internationally, going with the express purpose of having a conversation about a business deal, and the opener is about the Colts," said Roland Dorson, president of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. "I have heard stories about China, the Far East, around the globe, Europe.
"Everybody out there is trying to attract business or distinguish themselves in some way. When we're competing with a Nashville or Charlotte, but also Vancouver or Melbourne, the fact we are able to say 'Super Bowl champions, world champions' is part of the cache that distinguishes us."
FULL STORY
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../1058/SPORTS03
Sweet taste of victory lingers
Sweet taste of victory lingers
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