Business Name: 2012 Super Bowl
Location: Downtown Indianapolis
Date: The week preceding 2012 Super Bowl
- Accessibility- ***
- Performance/Reliability: - **1/2
- Problem-Solving/Conflict Resolution: **1/2
- The Intangibles- **1/2
- Overall Experience- **1/2
The Gimp is from and still resides in Indianapolis. Indianapolis is what many might call a “‘tweener” city…It’s the 12th most populated city in the United States, but for whatever reason has consistently maintained a small town mentality and an almost apologetic view of itself when relating with the media and popular culture.
Snagging the Super Bowl is a huge win for the city, the result of years of planning and efforts going all the way back to popular Mayor William Hudnut and including everyone since then including current Mayor Greg Ballard. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have one of the best NFL owners on your side in Jim Irsay along with future NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. While the abysmal record of the Indianapolis Colts this past season certainly put a damper on everything, the simple truth is that the city, from the richest to the only modestly rich (Who are we kidding? With the exception of photo ops, the Super Bowl is NOT about the poor folks) has wrapped itself around this event like nothing we’ve ever seen and, against the predictions of nearly everyone in national media, the Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee, barring any tragedy’s at tonight’s game, has managed to produce what may become known as the best Super Bowl hosting yet.
For the most part, the kudos are well deserved and I give my applause to the thousands of volunteers who’ve given their hearts and souls for this effort along with the “paid staff” who’ve gone above and beyond in creating a memorable week of events.
Even if I could afford to attend the Super Bowl, I doubt I’d ever find myself spending that much money for what amounts to a day-long exercise in self-mutilation called wading through downtown, parking and coping with the sea of chaos known as Super Bowl day. Maybe I’d feel differently if I’d had tickets to the game or if I’d been asked to serve as one of Madonna’s gladiators, but it’s likely I’ll only ever get excited if it’s announced that the Oscar Awards will be hosted by our city…even then, I’d rather play host to The Independent Spirit Awards or even the Razzies.
It was with a certain amount of trepidation that I found myself on more than one occasion journeying down to Super Bowl Village, a three-block NFL wonderland set up in downtown Indianapolis to lure both residents and non-residents into immersing themselves into the popular culture and media frenzy created by the Super Bowl. Depending on the time of day, Super Bowl Village has played host to open-air, free concerts attended by thousands along with the NFL Experience, Tailgate Town, ESPN’s broadcast area, the famed Super Bowl roman numerals, FanDome, four “ziplines” offering an aerial view of downtown Indy and a variety of other displays, exhibitions, party exhibitions and on and on.
In other words, Super Bowl Village has been nuts morning, noon and night.
Into this crassly commercialized chaos ventured this solo, wheelchair using gimp armed only with my generally cheerful demeanor and a willingness to be freakishly abandoned in my wheelchair should it be required in order to escape the extraordinary busyness.
To their credit and not surprisingly, the Super Bowl Hosting Committee has certainly made an effort to make the Super Bowl Village experience a disability friendly experience. Gregory Fehribach, a local attorney and longtime disability activist in Indy who’s in a wheelchair himself, has served as one of the Committee’s coordinators on ADA issues and his influence can be felt in certain aspects of the ADA planning including a concerted effort to offer specific drop off/pick up areas that are disability friendly and to address the parking needs of individuals with disabilities (though anyone with half a brain knows that virtually anyone with any health issue can obtain one of the disability window placards whether it’s actually needed or not). On the Super Bowl Hosting Committee’s website, ADA issues are addressed quite clearly in the area of parking. Sadly, there’s almost no other information addressing the disabled such as which activities, exhibits and locations are disability friendly and which one’s will make special arrangements.
So, let’s just cut to the chase. Does the Super Bowl Village here in Indy ultimately pass The Gimp’s test?
The short answer is “No.”
When it comes down to it, virtually every aspect of Super Bowl Village is decidedly non-gimp friendly. The volunteers have been extraordinary in every case, and there’s been an undeniable willingness to assist as needed. Truthfully, Indianapolis crowds (both residents and non-residents) have been friendly and, at times, even protective (especially during late night concerts where the turn-out was far higher than anyone expected and folks were packed in so uncomfortably that even sardines would be uncomfortable).
There have been two areas of Super Bowl Village that have been particularly disappointing – 1) The complete lack of options for disabled fans in terms of the “ziplines,” these high wire devices allowing a 20-second trip on what is billed as the “longest temporary zip line in the country,” and 2) The outdoor concerts, standing room only concert experiences not that far removed from those Central Park concerts in New York City but in an area much more boxed in and limited in space.
First, the “zipline.” The zipline required you to walk up many flights (I believe it’s either 12 or 17) up to a platform. From there, you are harnessed in and maneuvered into the required equipment. The entire ride takes approximately 20 seconds and is completed only after you’ve signed a release of liability. Now then, you’re probably thinking to yourself “Duh” when I report being unable to participate in this activity. Heck, why would a gimp want to?
Then again, why would a gimp want to wheel across the state (I have)? Skydive (I have)? or Bungee jump (I have)?
Because we’re human, too…and we LOVE adventures.
There’s NOTHING on the website implying that someone with a disability cannot participate (it does state that you must be at least 6 years old and the weight limit is 265 lbs).
I am well over 6-years-old and significantly under 265 lbs.
Okay, maybe not significantly.
The truth is that I wasn’t particularly surprised to find this feature non-gimp friendly, but I was disappointed to see little in the way of an alternative arrangement for folks with physical challenges. I felt much like I did when I visited St. Louis and attempted to enter the Gateway Arch only to be told I wasn’t allowed.
In other words, I was p***ed.
The outdoor concerts offered up a similar experience, though a more familiar one as concert attendance can always be a bit tricky when one’s in a wheelchair or has mobility issues.
Every night of the week served up different concerts, ranging from 80′s disco band Village People to current hitmakers LMFAO and quite a few others. In theory, these concerts were perfectly accessible. After all, the concerts were outdoors in what amounts to a very large alley type area. These concerts were “general admission” free concerts with the highest attendance estimated at 35,000+ for the evening featuring LMFAO. Local law enforcement quickly adjusted their methods of crowd management after the LMFAO concert, with all involved acknowledging that downtown Indy had never seen such a crowd and it far surpassed what had been expected. To their credit, law enforcement handled it well and responded quickly when it was realized that the crowds were beginning to get restless as there were so many of them in a limited space.
But, if you were a gimp in this crowd you were running the risk of serious injury (Fights did break out, despite local media reports that only 11 people were injured (B.S.!) and none seriously (Again, B.S.~!). While it certainly wasn’t a disaster, it was a potential disaster and in the same city where multiple people just lost their lives at a weather related concert this past summer. If there had, by some odd fluke, been a weather related emergency (or some other emergency) odds are strong that another tragedy was waiting to happen. Fortunately, it didn’t. This area offered little chance that someone with a disability could see decently or comfortably join in…in short, it was an outdoor concert with almost no planning for the disabled.
During the day, the Super Bowl experience was considerably more positive. The NFL Experience, while containing activities not wheelchair friendly, also had staff that were disability friendly and creative in the ways they found to be inclusive. There were also ample other opportunities for individuals with disabilities to enjoy the festivities. The vast majority of food areas and rest areas were also gimp friendly. While the restroom situation was a bit precarious, one could easily tell some thought had been put into it all.
It has been no secret that I don’t exactly fancy the whole football thing. While I’m impressed with the Host Committee’s work and would be proud of Indy being labeled the “best” or “one of the best” host cities ever, I also found myself frustrated at times with the crass commercialization of the entire experience and the dreadful behavior and price gouging by certain area merchants who far surpassed the expected price increases. Furthermore, local media has acted virtually the entire week like they’ve never seen a celebrity before with broadcast and non-broadcast media all swooning over every B, C, D and No-list celebrity to make an appearance. Only a few A-listers seem to have made the trip and, not surprisingly, most of them have avoided the media circus. As a local film writer, I gave thought to chasing, at most, 3-4 interviews and in the end met the couple of celebrities I most wanted to meet and ended up with no interviews (but one potential in the future).
What has most bummed me out about the experience is that I’d really looked at this whole experience as Indy’s chance to re-define the Super Bowl culture and weave it together with Hoosier Hospitality and a little bit of common sense. I’d hoped to see more opportunities for lower income folks, folks with disabilities and families. Instead, it seems like Super Bowl Culture re-defined Indianapolis and revealed a surprising degree of materialism and greed. The legislature had just passed strengthened sex trafficking laws, but local media has failed miserably in providing coverage of this issue throughout this week (and there have been cases). While there’s no denying that Indy has done an extraordinary job of hosting, one only wishes that more thought had been put into accessibility issues and that local media would quit fawning and act with journalistic integrity in honestly and accurately covering every aspect of the Super Bowl experience.
