Indiana

September 15, 2008

Moto GP Practice

Michael at Brugge

Indiana

Cathedral Irish Football

While Hurricane Ike was not able to stop my plans to travel up to Indianapolis for the weekend, it seems to have followed me there after a stop in Texas to wreck destruction on the Gulf Coast. The weather when I arrived in Indiana for a weekend of meeting with friends and watching a few sporting events was less than spectacular as a heavy rain was falling most of the day on Friday.




I had a few items on my agenda, among them visiting my alma mater, Cathedral High School, which was celebrating its 90th birthday. I was able to visit friends and former teachers and coaches, pick up a ticket for the big football game that night and see how much the place has grown since I attended back in the dark ages. Cathedral has been much in the national spotlight of late. One of the members of the US women’s gymnastics team that won the Silver medal at the Olympics, Samatha Peszek, attends CHS and the Irish football team had a recent game against Carmel broadcast nationally on ESPN. NBC is also doing a feature on the history of the football team that will run during their NFL coverage during the next two weekends.

Indianapolis Mayor (and CHS grad) Greg Ballard with Samantha Peszek.

Cathedral

Race fans at IMS

I also managed to sneak out to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a couple of hours to watch practice for the big MotoGP motorcycle race being held at the track. The first motorcycle race since 1911 at IMS features the best riders and most important racing series in the world. It was amazing at the speed and skill the riders displayed, especially with a steady rain falling.

Ducati Parking at MotoGP




Of course one of the best reasons to visit Indianapolis is to sample the food and brew at Brugge Brasserie. Brugge is expanding into the upstairs of their building with a much larger space that will feature a much larger bar area and additional seating. Brugge Beer is also now available to take home from Indiana’s finest liquor stores in 750 ml bottles. I got a full update on the progress and a tour of the expansion which will be opening hopefully with-in a month. If you happen to be in Indianapolis- do yourself a favor and check out Brugge.

Brugge expansion

I was fortunate that my visit happened to coincide with the huge rivalry football game between Cathedral and Bishop Chatard. The game was also conveniently being played at Broad Ripple High School, an easy walk from Brugge, to accommodate the massive crowds that show up for this annual battle of Catholic school powers. I joined former basketball coach Tom O’Brien and my buddy Ken Barlow to watch the action.

Ken Barlow



The rain had stopped, but the field was a muddy mess making for a pretty exciting game. Cathedral managed to break an 8-8 tie with a touchdown with just over 5 minutes remaining. That left just enough time for Chatard to drive the length of the field and score a TD with just over a minute left. Chatard, to their credit, decided to go for the win with a 2 point conversion but their pass fell short leaving the Irish with a 15-14 victory.

Irish snare trophy

Irish students celebrate win.

Samantha Peszek Official Site

Moto GP