HOSTILE TERRITORY: Lucas Oil Stadium

I finally got back to a football game, and as you might have guessed, it was a road Eagles game. Not only was it my first Eagles game of the 2022-23 season, it was also my first EVER visit to Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis:

I talked about my experiences before, during, and after the game on the podcast, which you can listen to here if you haven't already:

Continue reading on for some visuals of my first visit to Lucas Oil Stadium.

Columbus and Indianapolis are only about 3 hours driving distance apart from each other, so a day trip was more than realistic. The only down side was having to wake up at 6AM to get on the road on a very cold November morning:

I arrived safely around 9. I definitely look tired, but I was pretty excited to be there. Downtown Indy is pretty nice and very walkable:

Oh, and it's also bike-friendly if you're into that sort of thing. I didn't get to do any riding on this day, but nice to know there are riding options are available for future visits:

I met up with my buddy Evan to get some brunch before the game. He's a Colts fan and season ticket holder, but I won't hold that against him:

The brunch spot was the Oakmont, which opened at 10. It didn't take long to fill up, and if you look closely, you can see a lot of Eagles fans in this crowd:

You can also see this humorous sign above the hallway to the restrooms:

The drinks were a good start and this avocado toast with a fried egg and salad was also more than satisfying. I kept it a bit light because I knew I had a long day still ahead of me:

Even I was amazed at the variety of Eagles jerseys I saw throughout the pre-game bar visits and walk to the stadium. One that was very near and dear to my childhood was this kelly green Eric Allen jersey (should be a Hall-of-Famer):

This is only the second time I've visited a domed stadium. I'm still in awe of how large the common area is at the entrances:

Not a bad view from the upper deck, and despite being indoors, there's lots of natural light coming in from the end zone windows (which can be opened on nice days):

The stadium chose an *interesting* font for their section number signage:

If you think it looks like the Eagles' jersey font, I'd agree with you.

Another unique Eagles jersey sighting, maybe the most unique of all time:

I double-checked. John Madden never played a game for the Eagles, having unfortunately injured his knee in his first training camp (his second knee injury before the age of 23). Still, truly a great all-time football personality and I love the acknowledgement of the team that drafted him.

On one of the end zone concourses, there's a giant horseshoe that fans will regularly congregate around and sometimes use as a table:

That horseshoe was on the main concourse on the lower level, which I had moved down to after halftime. From there, it was a very low view up to the roof, where the Colts hang their championship banners:

I appreciated this "note from the Eagles" displayed during Eagles offensive possessions:

As I mentioned on the podcast, I was told to expect the fans NOT to be loud, but the Colts kept the game close and the fans were into the action for the most part.

I didn't have time to walk all the way around the main concourse, but from the other end zone I could see some racing cars on display, obviously a nod to the stadium sponsor:

The game was a lot closer than I would have liked, but the Eagles pulled off a come from behind victory in the end. You can see some of the downtown Indianapolis skyline in the background of the aforementioned large windows:

I mentioned that downtown Indy is quite walkable. There's a pedestrian tunnel outside the stadium that leads to most of the closer bars and restaurants in the area:

I'd recommend you take the couple extra minutes to stop by Chilly Water Brewing, which is owned and operated by Eagles fans:

I also featured one of their beers on the very first episode of the podcast, by the way.

My friend Fil and I grabbed a pint and a quick bite before heading back to Columbus. I snapped one quick pic of the center square in downtown because it looked nice at night:

I'll definitely have to return to Indy. It seems like a fun city worth exploring beyond football. Maybe a visit to see the Sixers play the Pacers is in my future...