Indianapolis Colts Fans Take Off With Hopes Of Victory


Packing predictions of warmer weather and a Colts blowout, a group of 250 Indianapolis Colts fans flying with the Ambassadair travel club left chilly Indianapolis International Airport early today for a long Super Bowl weekend in Florida.

Dave Cwi and his wife, Cindy, Indianapolis, prepare to board a charter flight for Florida and the Super Bowl. - CHARLIE NYE / The Star



Departing at 8:30 a.m., they were among the first of many Colts fans decked out in the team's blue colors to head south today. Most hotels in the Miami area and many of the Super Bowl packages offered to fans required three-night minimum stays, Friday through Sunday.


"We were able to come up with about 82 tickets from brokers we've worked with through the year and put together some packages for our members," said Mike Grueninger, president of Grueninger Tours, which operates Ambassadair


Ambassadair had offered two packages on a first-come, first-served basis for its members: $5,599 (per person, double occupancy) with ticket and $1,699 without.


Sophia Casey, Indianapolis, bought the game ticket package, and said "It's all worth it. It's the chance of a lifetime"


The longtime Colts fan predicted a 27-3 Colts victory. "We want a blowout!"


Dave and Cindy Cwi, Indianapolis, are Colts season ticket holders, but were not fortunate enough to be drawn in the team's lottery for Super Bowl tickets.


Cindy Cwi said they would be "taking advantage of the package and visiting some friends in Fort Myers"


Aussie Mick Peppard came all the way from Melbourne to take his fiancée Joan Slusser of Columbus, Ind. to the game. Peppard had been in the states over the holidays when the Colts were "kind of falling apart" said Slusser. "He told me if the Colts made it to the Super Bowl, he would take me. Be careful of what you wish for."


When asked if the wedding date had been set joked that halftime entertainer Prince would conduct the rites.


Slusser predicted a 31-13 Colts win, while Preppard kept it closer at 17-10.


It appeared that 9-year-old Duncan Bjerke, Indianapolis, was the youngest on the trip,


"Nobody believed he was going," said his mother Janet Bjerke, who predicted at 35-14 victory for the Colts.


"His (school) bus driver asked him to bring back a photo of himself with Peyton Manning to prove it," Janet Bjerke said.


"I get goose bumps just thinking about it. That may be just the cold."


Each Ambassadair package included roundtrip airfare from Indy to Fort Myers, three nights lodging at the Naples Grande Resort /&/amp; Club, a pre-game party cruising coastal Miami on the Sir Winston Luxury Yacht (with open bar and lunch) and transportation to the game. Miami, on Florida's east coast, is approximately a 2-hour drive from Naples, on the west coast.


Source: indystar.com

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