Sports Marketing 2.0 | Pat Coyle

Thanks to everyone who sent notes over these past few days. I got lots of very positive, supportive sentiments from all around the world. Isn’t this Internet thing cool?

Special Thanks to Jim Irsay

I don’t know how other team owners handle the Super Bowl, but Mr. Irsay did it right. He brought our entire organization to the game and put us up for 4 days in (not that sunny) Florida. There were parties, and celebrities everywhere. I even went wave running on the ocean! Anyway, can’t thank Jim and Meg enough for their generosity and kind hearts. A lot of people may not realize that it’s expensive to go to the Super Bowl. I don’t know how it all works, but I know the team owner ends up getting a big bill at the end. Somehow that doesn’t seem right, does it? Oh, well. So happy for them that the Colts finally won the big prize! It’s our job (Colts sales and marketing) to help leverage the victory to pay those bills. Which we’ll start on today.

It’s Tuesday morning here in Indy.

Got back last night. Retrieved our kids and watched (on TV) the celebration happening down at the RCA Dome. Colts players, coaches, owner, etc came home to a full stadium. (55,000) Colts fans were waiting for them to hoist the trophy. Very cool for this city and the State of Indiana. I admit it. I shed a tear or two when Tony Dungy and Jim Irsay were holding the Lombardi trophy after the game and both remarked how proud they were to be bringing it home to this City and this State. We’re proud of them too!

Happened to sit right next to Mayor Bart Peterson on the flight home.

I asked him if he had made a bet with Chicago Mayor, Dick Daley. He chuckled and said, heck yes. He’ll be receiving something like 20 different food items, furniture, and more. Like everything else around Super Bowl, even the wager between mayors is getting out of hand. (All the stuff he gets will go to charity). BTW - I think our governers also had a bet…something about flying a Colts flag on the Illinois capitol building I think.

Mayor Bart was down in Miami with a delegation from Indy who were scouting to learn how Miami handles hosting the big game. We’re gunning to be the host city in 2011. Having experienced Miama this weekend, which did a good job, I can only imagine how cool it would be to host a Super Bowl…and I know it would mean a ton to Indianapolis. This city, while smaller and cold in Super Bowl season, has a lot to offer. It is extremely well organized, friendly and capable. Plus, the stadium is downtown right near all the hotels, so traffic won’t be quite the nightmare it was on Sunday at Dolphins Stadium. If you’ve ever been to the Indy 500, Brickyard 400, Forumula One race, Final Four, Big Ten Championship, RCA Champship (tennis) or even the Star Wars convention, you know Indy is pretty good at hosting big events.

I have another blog (I Choose Indy) that I manage with my friend, Doug Karr, just for fun. It collects testimonials from business leaders around Indiana. And Doug is a bit of a blogging guru. Read his blog here.