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BY PATRICK GUINANE
pguinane@nwitimes.com
317.637.9078 | Saturday, January 27, 2007 | (1 comment(s))
INDIANAPOLIS | Twelve-hundred bucks and a little clout will get you a pair of tickets to Super Bowl XLI.
The Indianapolis Colts have given state politicians, including legislators, congressmen and local officials around Indianapolis, the chance to cut in front of season-ticket holders who didn't get a change to buy tickets to the Feb. 4 game in Miami.
An e-mail from the team late Thursday offered each lawmaker the chance to purchase a pair of tickets at the face value of $600 apiece.
"I can't spend that kind of money," said state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary. "It's not only (the ticket price). It's what the hotels are going to cost down there and flights. I know making a flight this late is going to be high. I can't do that."
Smith said his nephew, a coach at Westside High in Gary, expressed interest in the tickets, but the e-mail from the Colts said lawmakers must use the tickets themselves.
State Rep. Bob Kuzman, D-Crown Point, said he already had bought his own ticket to the game but might use the team's offer to score a seat for his wife or his father.
Not much for crowds, state Rep. Duane Cheney, D-Portage, said he'd much rather watch the game from his couch.
Spokesman Justin Kitsch said U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, a Merrillville Democrat, also will be declining the Colts' offer. He played coy when asked whether the congressman would be supporting the Colts or the Chicago Bears.
"Isn't the answer obvious?" was his only response.
State Rep. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland, said his support for the Monsters of Midway soured last season when the Bears considered limiting the sale off playoff tickets to Illinois residents.
"To me it was a big slap in the face to Northwest Indiana sports fans," he said.
Stevenson is headed to the SoxFest, the Chicago White Sox fan convention in Chicago, this Sunday but said he was mulling the Colts' offer to buy tickets for the following weekend.
Gov. Mitch Daniels on Friday told reporters he will be in Miami for Super Bowl weekend and is trying to set up a reception that would allow him to network with business leaders interested in bringing jobs to Indiana. The governor said he didn't know if he will be going to the game as a guest of the team or if he'll have to shell out for tickets.
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terry wrote on Jan 27, 2007 5:04 AM: