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NOW YOU KNOW: From 2002 to 2010, the Indianapolis Colts won at least 10 games every season, making the playoffs each time. That's not the case this year. friendly, casual drinking joints (Claddagh Irish Pub, Ike & Jonesy's). The mazelike Slippery Noodle Inn, opened in 1850 and billed as the oldest bar in Indiana, books live blues acts nearly every night of the week. P erhaps in a fit of pique over the fact that South Florida doesn't get to host the big game every year, a Miami Herald col- umnist recently had a few words to say about Indianapolis. "The NFL awarded a Super Bowl to Indianapolis," he wrote. "And the idea that sponsors have to be somewhere warm and fun and sunny got tossed because Indy is none of those this time of year." For all the reasons listed above, Indy's Super Bowl planners take strong exception to the notion that Indy isn't fun. (And it's worth noting that Indianapolis doesn't have a mo- nopoly on bad weather in February — when the Colts went to Miami to play for the Lom- bardi Trophy in 2007, the game was nearly rained out.) But as for the warm and sunny part, they're not arguing. In fact, with a kind of salty Midwestern pragmatism, they've decided to embrace the detriment. And in typical Indianapolis fashion, the city has done so by building something. Georgia Street, a downtown side street that ran from Bankers Life Fieldhouse to the convention center, has been torn up and replaced with a pedestrian-friendly, open-air plaza that, when the traveling NFL circus rolls into town, will become Super Bowl Village. It will feature a wall-to-wall lineup of food and booze vendors, merchandise stands, two concert stages and, for thrill seekers, 650- foot zip lines. Outdoor heaters will be liber- ally dispersed. If the whole getup is eerily reminiscent of the scene at an Olympic vil- lage, that's because it is. Planners took notes from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. They want downtown Indianapolis to feel like a spirited cold-weather festival. After all, if die-hard tailgaters in northern cities like Green Bay, Buffalo and Cleveland are any indication, NFL fans don't mind the cold as long as there's a good party. In any event, most of the downtown hotels are connected to Lucas Oil Stadium, the convention center and other attractions like Circle Centre mall by a series of tunnels and skywalks, meaning that truly weather- averse visitors can leave their hotels and catch the NFL Experience, shop, eat dinner, have a few drinks and then watch the Super Bowl all without setting foot outside. Accordingly, Miles, who now chairs the local host committee, has a response for that skeptical Miami columnist — and, for that matter, for anyone else who might doubt the feasibility of having a good time in In- dianapolis in the dead of winter. "He's right, it's not going to be a place you would come to in February for the climate, if you want the traditional Super Bowl experience that revolves around golf," Miles says. "But if you want to be in the middle of an atmosphere that creates buzz and fun, then you ought to be here." EVAN WEST is a senior editor at Indianapolis Monthly magazine. His writing has appeared in Fast Company, Atlanta Magazine and Wabash Magazine. Heading to New York? Going to Broadway? The show starts here. without leaving New York. The steakhouse Enjoy a trip to Brazil ork. even vegetarians would love. Theater District 316 West 49th Street Bet. 8th & 9th Avenues 212.245.0505 plataformaonline.com AA.COM/AMERICANWAY Bet. White & Franklin Streets 221 West Broadway 212.925.6969 ChurrascariaTribeca.com Excellence" Since 2001 Spectator's "Best of Award of Wine TriBeCa JANUARY 15, 2012 49

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