I was lucky enough to be able to take off school Thursday and spend the day downtown with some of my best friends, camping out for tickets to see Jimmy Fallon at the Hilbert Theatre on Monument Circle. Our morning began at 8 AM, when we arrived downtown. To our surprise, there was already a line started, and we took our spots about 50 people back. Keep in mind, the theatre didn’t start giving out tickets until 10:00, so we had a lot of time to burn outside in the toasty 25 degree weather. This provided a lot of great people-watching, as our seats were right in front of a Starbucks, but we also met really nice people who were doing the same thing as us. We definitely received some weird looks from the businessmen and women walking to work, wondering what these crazy people had gotten themselves into.

10:00 finally came, and we were able to get our tickets. This now gave us the freedom to do whatever we wanted until around 3:30. Indianapolis is a magical place, especially for four teenagers who are out of school and have nothing to do for five hours, but it’s even more of an experience when the Super Bowl festivities are happening just a few blocks away. We sat and watched the zip liners, some who had been waiting in line since 1 AM the night before, and did our best to get in the backgrounds of every news team trying to tape their noon broadcasts.

We attempted to get tickets to Radio Row, a room full of radio shows from around the country being recorded at the J.W. Marriott, but it was nearly impossible to get the free tickets before they were done being given out. So, we went back to walking around downtown, trying to spot celebrities. I’m sure we passed by a couple without even knowing it, but when you try to look at every person around you, you kind of look creepy. We did see Maria Menounos from “Extra” taping in the middle of the street, surrounded by mostly middle-aged guys trying to get pictures with her.

The time finally came for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to start. On the show that night? Taylor Lautner, Adam Levine, and Drew Brees. Special appearances were made by Michael Strahan, Jerry Rice, Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, and other former or current NFL players. I was really surprised how short Taylor Lautner was in person! The show was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced, and I am so glad we got the chance to see Jimmy live.

After the show, my sister and I decided that we needed to find Jimmy and get a picture with him. We had talked to a security guard earlier who told us that they usually bring him through the side entrance of the theatre, which was located in a really dark, creepy alley. So, that’s where we ended up, along with two other girls who were trying to do the same thing. While we were waiting, two guys passed by us. I didn’t recognize who it was until my sister nudged me- “Hey, I think that’s Dallas Clark!” I had totally forgotten that they showed Dallas sitting in the audience during the show, and come to find out, it was in fact him. We think the guy with him also played in the NFL, but we didn’t realize that until after we had him take the picture of my sister and me with Dallas. Embarrassing? Yes. Worth it? Totally.

To finish out the night, we ended up at Super Bowl village where Darius Rucker was playing. I have never experienced anything like the crowd we were in. If you’re a fan of being pushed in every direction and not being able to move, it would definitely have been the event for you. No one was upset about it though; they were all enjoying everything going on around them. Once we got out of the main area in front of the stage, we watched the rest of the concert from the huge screens set up all along the streets, and it was a great show.

The thing I was most intrigued by was just how happy everyone was. By Thursday, there was a good mix of Hoosiers and out-of-towners, and you could literally feel the excitement when walking around downtown. It seemed like all of the Super Bowl visitors were having a fantastic time, and really, what better way to introduce outsiders to the city? The news reports interviewed different people from out of town, and they couldn’t stop talking about Hoosier hospitality and how nice, helpful, and overall cheery people were here. I think we sometimes forget that we really do live in a great place, no matter how boring it may seem sometimes. So here’s to you, Indiana, on a job well done.