Goshen barber and longtime Indianapolis Colts fan Doug Shaffer is walking on clouds this week after being able to attend his second Super Bowl in four years last weekend.
Shaffer said his family decided two weeks ago they could not afford the expense of another trip to the Super Bowl, as they are concentrating on sending their daughter, Lauren, to college this year.
“Three years ago the tickets were $1,750 each,” Shaffer explained. He estimated it would cost thousands of dollars to fly his whole family to the game. A Colts season ticket holder for 13 years, he was not in the lottery for Super Bowl tickets this year.
“I said I’m not going unless God intervenes,” Shaffer said. He was resigned to watch the big game at a local Super Bowl party or at home, until a miracle happened last week.
But then his “ticket lady” called him to say someone turned in tickets and Doug could buy them for $500. He jumped at the chance.
“I had to make the split-second decision,” Shaffer said. “I got (the tickets). Then I asked, ‘Who is going?’”
Shaffer said he bought the tickets with the intention of allowing his daughter and 16-year-old son, Austin, to go to the big game. He and his oldest son followed the Colts to the Super Bowl three years ago, he said.
Although Lauren had to practice for the basketball sectional that is being played this week, his family wanted to go to Miami.
“I’m in a pickle,” he recalled. “My family wants to go. I’m flying them down and going with them. I’m not buying a (game) ticket for myself,”
The plan was for Shaffer to escort the teenagers to Miami. Shaffer’s wife, Tina, stayed home.
The three Shaffers flew out of South Bend at 6:25 a.m. Saturday and stopped at Detroit. There were many Colts fans at the Detroit airport, as they flew from Indianapolis on Northwest Airlines before connecting to Miami.
At Detroit, Shaffer struck up a conversation with a man from Indianapoplis who was involved in designing Super Bowl rings for the Colts. Shaffer told the man he was taking his children to the Super Bowl, but he did not have a ticket for himself.
Shaffer’s new friend went to work on the situation. He first said another jewelry designer headed to the game might not be able to get out of Rhode Island, and Shaffer might be able to have that ticket.
Shaffer kept in touch by cell phone with his new friend, who called him at 11 a.m. Sunday to say he had located a ticket for him. The man told Shaffer that “the family” provided it, which Shaffer took to mean the Irse family in Indianapolis, who own the Colts.
In addition to receiving this ticket to the big game, Shaffer said, he was handed an envelope that read “Tailgate” on the outside. It contained credentials for admission to a huge tailgate party going on before the football game. Shaffer said “American Idol” star Chris Daughtry was performing at the event.
“It was nuts,” the Goshen barber noted. “About 75 percent of the people were in suits and ties. The other 25 percent were real fans.”
After the afternoon party, the Shaffers headed into the stadium, where they continued to watch the stars. Shaffer made a list of 17 people they spoke to, had photos taken with and from whom they received souveniers, including a player’s glove. The celebrities include Condelezza Rice, members of The Who (halftime performers), Queen Latifah, Emmet Smith and Archie Manning.
Shaffer even traded tickets with a Saints fan sitting behind his children and watched the game with them, rather than in another section.
And after the game, Shaffer was able to tear down a section of a Super Bowl banner, which is hanging this week in his Sports Cut barber shop along Elkhart Road.
While walking back to their motel, Shaffer said, his children called the adventure “the greatest weekend of their lives. I have never been thanked so much.”
“It was a priceless, priceless time,” Shaffer said of the weekend with his family. “The kids had an absolute blast.”
Other than the final outcome of the game, the weekend was a dream come true.
They flew home Monday morning in time for Lauren to get to school and basketball practice after classes.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Photo contributed
Local barber has Super Bowl adventure
- Local News
-
-
Boys & Girls Club of Goshen says goodbye to longtime director Andy Purviance
It’s the end of an era at the Boys & Girls Club of Goshen. Andy Purviance, the long-time Director of the Club, will be saying good bye to the club and Goshen this fall as he and his wife Donna relocate to San Diego where Purviance will continue his career in Boys & Girls Clubs.
-
Goshen VFW Honor Guard helps send their fellow veterans to final rest
The heat of the stuffy May day is starting to gather outside of Rieth-Rohrer Funeral Home in downtown Goshen recently as members of the VFW Post 985 Honor Guard begin to shuffle inside.
-
Duty changes with birth of LaGrange soldier's son
Usually when people think of American veterans they think of men in uniform. More often today, than in yesteryear, the veteran is a woman. In tune with the times, the military has made accommodations for this increase in female recruits.
-
Fairfield graduates ready for the next step
Fairfield High School held its 44th commencement Friday night in its school gymnasium, handing out 145 diplomas.
-
Westview seniors graduate Friday night
Westview High School held its 46th commencement Friday night in its school gymnasium, handing out 97 diplomas.
-
RV shipments up in April
Wholesale shipments of recreational vehicles rose 9.8 percent in April compared to the same month in 2011.
-
UPDATE: Police release names of two killed in Bristol motorcycle crash
Two Elkhart residents were killed Friday night when the motorcycle they were riding crashed along Ind. 15 as they fled police.
-
Police probe possible fatal crash near Bristol
Elkhart County rescue crews responded to a possible double fatal traffic crash on Ind. 15 just south of C.R. 112 at 9:13 p.m. Friday night. Ind. 15 was closed to non-emergency traffic and a Samaritan medical helicopter landed at the scene to assist with rescue efforts.
-
Goshen teen who shot himself Tuesday arrested for using sawed-off gun in robbery
A 17-year-old male recently admitted to IU Health Goshen Hospital for a self-inflicted gunshot wound has been arrested in connection with the robbery of a BP gas station in Goshen this past Sunday.
-
Wild phlox can be found this time of year
Nature’s bounty can sometimes produce unexpected beauty in the form of wildflowers that can pop up anywhere and everywhere. They can be some of the most exhilarating because of the unusual colors, the delicacy of the blossoms, or simply their choice of location to grow.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
